Dreams That Arise
by MrsPuppetEx
Summary: A young woman is forcibly pulled into the world of Fairy Tail with no hope of ever returning home. How will she handle the challenges accompanying this? Will anyone help to clear away the darkness clouding her heart? What will happen when she faces the biggest tragedy of all? /M for a reason/lemons, BDSM, death, hints of rape/self-insert {sort of}/Owned by Hiro Mashima/
1. Chapter 1

**A/N;** _Okay, Guys! I know I haven't finished off Ruling The Planets as of yet, and I'm trying to work on that, I really am! But! I've been working on this story on the DL for a few months now and I'm going to start posting it one chapter every 3-4 days so as not to let my ideas go stale. This is somewhat of a self-insert as Kathryn acts very much like I do and she resembles me, however, her backstory is not like my own past in the least (aside from minor details such as the age she married, etc)._

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 _ **I hope you enjoy this one, my delicate marionettes!**_

 _ **~ MrsPuppetEx**_

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Hot puffs of air came from the mouth of a young woman as she walked down the dark street. Anger flowed off of her small frame in waves, forcing curious onlookers to take a cautious step back as she stomped past them, her short combat boots pounding on the pavement with each step.

She was not unremarkable in appearance with that sort of edgy vibe that many of the older generation frowned upon. Her hair, a raspberry red, was long and full, curling tightly around her head in a blazing halo. Her face was painted with thick layers of black eyeliner and mascara around her eyes and a mauve shade of purple lipstick upon plump lips, a look that not many would dare to try but she seemed to pull off without a hitch.

Several tattoos were visible upon her exposed skin, standing out starkly against the pale, milky flesh. From above the collar of the gray tank she wore, the edges of a set of wings peaked upon her shoulder blades, the nearly golden ink shining in the dim streetlamp light. Oh her wrist were two symbols that had once meant something to her, but no longer seemed to draw forth the same emotion they once had. The last tattoo was the most recent, one right over her heart above her bust, it appeared to be a sun and moon, enveloping each other in the beautiful scrawling pattern she'd drawn herself and requested be etched upon her skin exactly, a symbol of the approaching dawn in her dark and tremulous ride through life.

The woman rounded a corner, muttering to herself, staring at the ground as she walked. "Stupid fucker," She grumbled, her voice an enticingly rich sound that flowed beautifully in the crisp fall air. "Showing up to my job like that. Who does he think he is?" She shook her head, trying to clear away her thoughts, but failing miserably.

She turned down an alley that she denoted as a shortcut towards the crappy little apartment that she'd managed to snag for a decent price after much haggling with the landlord. It wasn't much, but it was hers and she'd acquired it all on her own with no help from her parents… or _him_.

That was what made the place oh so much more appealing, the idea that even her ex-husband hadn't been involved in that small success that she'd claimed. No, he hadn't been involved in anything that had happened to her in the past year and a half following the nasty fight that had turned into an equally as nasty divorce. She should have known better than to get married at nineteen, had been warned by many about the disaster that awaited her, but she'd been young and blind then.

She had overlooked their petty arguments, electing to just close off her mind to whatever insecurities she'd had and change herself for him, trying to become the woman he'd wanted in his life. That was the problem, though, she'd been the one to change without any equal effort on his part. That was ultimately what had led to the divorce. She'd woken up one day and realized how little he'd been trying to make things work between them and had subsequently brought it up.

Before she knew it, they had erupted into a full-blown fight, screaming insults at each other, tearing away the remnants of the already fragile bond they'd shared for over two years. She hadn't actually thought he'd ever hit her though, that's where she had been surprised and disgusted. The man she'd put so much effort into being with and loving had busted her lip with the back of his hand and that had been the final blow to their marriage, literally.

She hadn't seen him in the year and a half since the divorce papers had been signed and she'd moved in with a coworker until she could get on her feet. It had been a sick surprise to see him standing in the lobby of the fast food joint where she worked tirelessly as a manager, having been promoted after putting all of her time and effort into achieving the position.

The gall of the man to show up there after so long, pleading for forgiveness. She hadn't thought he had it in him to ask such a thing of her, but he had and she'd been caught completely off guard. It had ended with her boss having the police escort the man from the building after he'd, once again, raised a hand to her, thankfully having been stopped by a couple of the larger and more protective men who worked beneath her this time.

As she approached the end of the alley, she was already calming down, the slight tremors that had her hands trembling had died down to nothing, her heated gaze softening as weariness began to creep in after the day's events. A brilliant white light caught her off guard and she stopped in her tracks, throwing her hands up to try and block out the blinding light.

"What the fuck?" She squeaked out a moment before she was hit in the back of the head with something and slumped to the ground in an unconscious heap.

A figure plucked the small woman from the alley, carelessly tossing her over his shoulder and stepping towards the light with no care for anyone who may have seen or heard what had just happened. When he emerged from the other side of the light, the pair no longer resided in the alley of a bustling city but in what appeared to be a laboratory of some kind.

The man walked over to a table and laid his burden out not so gently before turning to his left to see a smaller man wearing a white lab coat and thick goggle-like glasses on his eyes. "Kathryn Chamberlin, as requested," The first man stated, gesturing to the woman on the table.

The older man, obviously a scientist of some sort, pushed his glasses up his sharp nose as he scrutinized the small form laid out before him, his nose scrunching up a bit in thought. "Unharmed for once, I see," His voice was high-pitched and nasally, as if he had a cold or some other illness partaking his elderly body. "I'll let Sierra know to grant you extra for this speedy service immediately, Soren."

Soren crossed his arms over his chest and grunted, "Whatever, old man. You're lucky I hold no magic and can run these little errands for you. That place is disgusting." He suppressed a shiver, not wanting to show any real fear he may have held for the place he'd retrieved his latest mark from.

His employer smiled, his thin lips forming a slightly upturned line upon his aged face as he set about strapping down the now-mumbling woman on his table and straightening tools that were held on a small table nearby. "You may stay and watch, if you like," His grin turned sinister, black eyes flashing with a madness that was barely restrained. "This one looks to be particularly feisty."

Soren shook his head as he headed for the door on the far side of the room, "Nope. Count me out of that. Call me when you are done and I'll take her to her cell, Falen."

Falen shrugged, "Suit yourself, kid. More fun for me." He didn't notice the cringe that formed on the younger man's face as he turned back towards his test subject, trying to picture how wonderfully she would react to her new situation. _This is going to be such fun_ , he thought to himself with a slight cackling laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N;** _New chapter! Let's get a move on to the real action_ :)

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 _ **I hope you enjoy this one, my delicate marionettes!**_

 _ **~ MrsPuppetEx**_

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A pale flickering light was the first thing Kathryn saw as her amber colored eyes opened up. Her head was pounding and she had no idea where her clothes had gone. She felt… dead inside. Numb to the world around her as she slowly sat up on the cot that she'd been carelessly thrown down onto after… no, she wouldn't think of that just now.

She ran a hand through her hair and almost cried out from her anguish. The lovely red locks had been mercilessly cut away, leaving behind a short pixie cut that gave her an even more youthful appearance. The hair she'd so lovingly cared for was gone, along with the rest of her dignity.

Kathryn blankly stared at the cell doors, her eyes lacking the spark they'd once previously held, she knew the only way out was through that door, but even if she managed to escape, she knew there was nothing for her out there. No, she fully believed the man who'd referred to himself as Falen when he'd told her she was in another world. The man had no reason to lie, and the strange piece of glass he'd inserted into the small woman's chest made her believe him even more.

She was alone, trapped in a place that no one knew to look for her within. No one would care that she was gone, either, that was the worst part, in her mind. Her family had pretty much cut her off once she'd left her husband, siding with him over the entire ordeal. Many of her friends had relinquished themselves of her presence as it was easier than dealing with the constant drama with her divorce. Hell, even her cat had run off just a week before, disappearing into the night without a trace. She was completely and utterly alone.

Laying back on the cot, Kathryn curled in upon herself and began to sing, the one thing that always calmed her nerves, a haunting melody in which she poured out her loneliness and heartbreak, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks onto the already damp pillow beneath her head.

* * *

"Give up, bitch!"

Kathryn winced as another hard fist slammed into her stomach, causing her to cough up blood onto the neat white floor beneath her suspended body. She clutched the chains that were wrapped around her wrists and slowly shook her head. "I'm not using my magic to help you," She stood firm with the decision to deny her captors anything they wanted, especially when it came to using the magic they'd mercilessly thrust upon her.

She'd spent the last six months locked away in that tiny cell, left to her own devices as she'd slowly become aware of the strange energy flowing through her body. Knowing what world she was in, Kathryn had known immediately that this energy was magic and that it would be with her for the rest of her life, no matter how short or lengthy that life may be.

The magic she'd ended up being bestowed, however, was not one she had envisioned herself with ever. She'd hoped for something based on water or plants, animals even. No, she wouldn't be so lucky as to have a magic that was simple as that. Kathryn had something far greater, Dream Walking Magic.

The magic was strange in the beginning, her first time using it was when she locked eyes with the man who'd captured her, Soren, and kept him locked in her gaze as she entered the media of his most recent dream, a dream of him being intimate with herself. She'd done it by accident and had been fearful of the man as soon as she'd lost the connection, being completely drained of her magic, and he'd attacked her for her entrancement.

She'd been blindfolded from that point on, not allowed to see anything in fear of the fact she might use her magic to help her to get away from them. Kathryn had learned that she was trapped within a dark guild called Wyvern Wing and that Falen was the guildmaster. She also learned that she would never be able to return home because she now held magic and her home world never had any kind of magic, making travel there impossible for herself.

Kathryn had become accustomed to the daily beatings she received now, the attempts to make her compliant to her captors' will. She hid most of her reactions easily, holding the reactions deep inside and never crying out as that only made the breaks in her metaphorical armor more apparent. And so, she took the hits dealt to her with as much poise and grace as one could while blindfolded and chained to a cold concrete wall naked.

The beating continued until she limply hung, bruises laying fresh upon the ones she'd received the previous day, the chains at her wrists digging into her pale flesh, blood dribbling to the floor from her mouth. A sound caught her attention as her head snapped up in surprise. A child was crying softly nearby as Soren's body heat backed away, causing Kathryn to shiver in both relief and the encroaching cold.

"Ah, the little Sky Maiden." Kathryn's brows drew together from the term that Falen had used. She knew that nickname… Somewhere in her mind, a light flickered in recognition. "We need you to heal our friend here, would you be so kind?"

Realization flooded the restrained redhead, fresh fear flowing in her veins and making her feel sick to her stomach. They had captured Wendy Marvel, the Sky Dragon Slayer, member of the infamous guild Fairy Tail. Kathryn knew she was in the exact world of an anime and manga that she loved so dearly, and with this knowledge, she knew that Fairy Tail itself must exist somewhere in this world. With the capture of the small slayer, there was no doubt that the entire guild would be appearing at some point, a small beacon of hope within the fear she felt for the child.

"I will heal her if you promise not to hurt her again," The girl's voice was watery, as if she'd been crying constantly. "I would not like to waste my magic if you're only going to hurt her again."

A hard slapping sound made Kathryn flinch and a renewed anger began to boil in her veins, jerking at the chains, she snarled at Falen's direction. She'd gotten used to being blind over the last six months of her imprisonment and her hearing was excellent, better than it had been while on Earth. "Hit her again, and I'll find your worst nightmare and make you relive it until you die from sheer terror," She ground out, glaring in his direction from behind the blindfold.

That sickening chuckle from Falen made Kathryn nearly shrink back, but she refused to stand down, if only to keep his attention on her instead of the child. She focused on where the slayer was sitting on the ground and sent a small reassuring smile, "Hey, it's okay. Heal me and let them do what they want. I've taken harder hits than what they've dealt me today."

"B-but-"

Kathryn shook her head, cutting off the protest, "I promise, if it keeps you safe, I'll handle it."

"Well isn't that noble of you?" Falen taunted, making Kathryn glare towards him once more. "You heard her, get a move on," Kathryn heard him shove Wendy in her general direction and bit back the urge to snap again.

The warmth from the slayer made Kathryn shiver a bit from the temperature change, she'd grown used to cold while imprisoned, having been without clothing or a blanket in a very long time. She smiled reassuringly once more down at the girl and said in the most indistinctive way she could under her breath, "When I am healed, rip off the blindfold and get out of the way, okay?"

The slayer's tiny gasp was enough for Kathryn to know she'd heard her, making the older woman feel a small sense of pride at the strength of the girl. A moment later, warmth flooded her entire aching body, soothing all of the bruises and cuts she'd sustained from the rigorous torture sessions. She knew she didn't have much muscle to begin with, but she would be able to use her magic to stop both Falen and Soren if she focused hard enough, allowing the small slayer the time she needed to escape.

As the magic faded, Kathryn sighed and said under her breath, "When I have them trapped, run. Don't worry about me, just run, I'll get out somehow."

Wendy stood deathly still for a moment, making Kathryn think she may have been having second thoughts, but then the blindfold was ripped from her eyes and light flooded her vision. After being in the dark for so long, it took an instant to gain her composure, but she caught Falen's steely gaze from across the room and let a sickening smile stretch across her face as her magic flared. "You should have made sure these chains were magic-cancelling," She cooed, giggling softly as she began to sift through his dreams for the worst of them.

Falen began screaming, falling to the ground and clutching his head, scratching at his eyes that were still locked in the gaze of the restrained redhead. Soren's bulky body rushed over to the guildmaster, trying to stop him from hurting himself.

Kathryn kept her gaze locked with the old man but knew Wendy was still standing next to her, dumbstruck. "Run!" She shouted to the young girl. "I can only hold him for so long. Get out and find your guild. I will find you if I can get out of here, I promise."

"What is your name?" Wendy asked her softly, no doubt still stuck on the sight of the harsh man clawing at his own face in terror.

"Kathryn."

"I will get help and come back for you, Kathryn-sama," Wendy's body heat disappeared a moment later and Kathryn caught a glimpse of a streak of blue disappearing behind the doorway.

She held Falen within her magic a while longer, giving the small slayer time to escape and gain some distance between herself and Wyvern Wing. When the strain on her magic was far too much, Kathryn released the link by closing her eyes for a long moment, smiling in satisfaction when she heard Falen fall to the floor, a whimper escaping his lips.

Soren's hand was on her jaw, making a small creak form in her head from the strength in his grip, "You're going to really fucking regret that, bitch."

Kathryn laughed the entire time as Soren's fists collided with her small body repeatedly, her mind relishing in the fact that she'd finally managed to get one up on the cruel, ruthless people who had turned her life upside down.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N;** _I know! I should have posted this days ago! I've had some personal problems that are kind of flowing into my writing and you'll see the results in a later chapter. I've got many chapters of this already written but I'm only going to release one every few days (possibly weekly?) so that it lasts for a while._

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 _ **I love you all, my delicate marionettes!**_

 _ **~ MrsPuppetEx**_

* * *

Kathryn lay out on the floor of her now-bare cell, her small pale body covered in bruises and cuts far worse than any she'd dealt with previously. She knew from the angered roars through the building that they hadn't managed to catch Wendy, making her smile through the pain that enveloped her. Even if she died today, she would die with the satisfaction in knowing she'd saved the girl from any further harm.

She had the blindfold back over her eyes, enchanted somehow so that she couldn't remove it herself, much to her distaste. The world was once again dark, leaving Kathryn isolated within her own mind as she didn't have the strength to even curl into a ball for some form of warmth. She shivered a bit from the cold but continued to giggle in glee at her success, the rush of happiness far outweighing the dread she held of her no-doubt impending doom.

When her cell door opened, she knew she was about to face the wrath that she'd been expecting since Soren had tossed her back into her cell. Sure enough, Falen's voice filled the small room, anger in every word. "You've proven to be a lot more trouble than I have time to deal with," He ground out between clenched teeth. "Thanks to you, I will need to move my entire guild to a new location and you've become a liability. My experiment has failed, and because of that, you are now going to be Soren's plaything until he, no doubt, kills you. Remember, you brought this upon yourself."

Kathryn let our a small whimper of pain when his boot-clad foot connected with her ribs and he left the room. Soren's looming form entered in his wake and Kathryn heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper being drawn. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this," Soren's words filling the redhead with a bit of fear, though she continued to laugh as he grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the cold wall.

"I doubt your tiny prick will even get past my lips," She spat in his face, earning a slap to the face that had her head rattling a bit.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch," Soren ruthlessly spread the woman's legs and braced her against the wall. "Try not to enjoy this too much."

Just as he lined up with her entrance, shouts were heard and the doors to the cell were slammed open. Soren was ripped away from Kathryn, making her fall to the floor in a useless heap. She struggled to discern what was going on as there were shouts and the sound of punches being thrown. Silence fell and Kathryn's brows drew together in confusion as she heard a voice she didn't recognize talking softly.

"Are you Kathryn?" When she slowly nodded, the person she identified as a male moved closer to where she sat on the floor against the wall. "I'm going to take the blindfold off, okay?"

Kathryn shook her head, "My eyes… You can't."

"What's wrong with your eyes?"

"My magic is based in my eyes and I'm not sure how they changed…" She trailed off, shaking her head again. Truthfully, she was afraid of what might have changed about the physical appearance of her eyes and didn't want to scare whoever was here to help her. It wouldn't do well to freak out her rescuer and make them question whether to help or not.

A heavy sigh filled the small room and suddenly, the blindfold was ripped away from Kathryn's face, making her gasp in surprise as dim light filled her vision. Before her stood the tall, lankily muscled form of Sting Eucliffe, White Dragon Slayer. His blond hair was tussled from the short fight with Soren, who was now laying unconscious on the cement floor of the hall just outside Kathryn's cell.

Kathryn quickly closed her eyes and was surprised to feel a callused hand on her chin, tilting her head up. "It's okay, there's nothing wrong with your eyes," Sting soothed, his voice wafting over the redhead like the warm rays of the sunshine she missed ever so dearly. "Open up."

She considered the repercussions of not following the obvious order and determined that she needed to trust the person who had just prevented her body from being violated. When she opened her eyes, the piercing yellow landed on the blond slayer once more, giving off a slight glow in the dim room. He smiled down at her a bit, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I suppose not… but aren't you a little freaked out?" She questioned quietly, casting her gaze down at the ground.

A quick jerk to her chin had her looking back up into the brilliant blue of his eyes once more. "I was raised by a dragon, it takes a lot to freak me out," He smirked, giving the lines of his handsome face more of a devilish look. "Wendy was worried about you, let's get you out of here, yeah?"

Kathryn nodded slowly and looked down at herself, "I can't really walk all that well." She let out a squeak of surprise when she was quickly swept up into the strong arms of the slayer, her cheeks flushing a bit at being carried by him while naked.

"I'll just carry you, then," He chuckled at the look on her face and sobered immediately after. "Cover your eyes a moment," He shook his head at the look on her face when she began to question the truth of his words about her eyes. "I'm going to transport us and it's going to be really bright. It'll only be for a moment, okay?"

The Dream Walker's brows drew together but she obeyed her savior's words and closed her eyes, keeping her arms firmly around his neck. A brilliant light flashed and then they were moving. Kathryn felt curiosity pique but dared not to open her eyes as she felt the rush of air around her, moving through the world at a pace she'd never thought possible until, all of a sudden, it was gone.

She slowly opened her eyes to see that Sting had stopped in front of a pair of huge wooden doors that Kathryn immediately recognized. She turned a slightly giddy glance to the man in who's arms she was still held, a small smile playing at her lips. "I'm really free?" Her voice began to waver, all the emotions that she'd tried so hard to push down were bubbling to the surface at the thought of freedom.

"You're good now, cutie," Sting responded, pushing open the large doors with a booted foot.

Kathryn looked around as people stopped in their movements, all turning to see the pair that entered the rowdy guild. Several gasps were heard and she immediately shied away from the attention, turning her face into Sting's shoulder to hide her eyes, thinking that that was the reason for the surprise.

"Sting Eucliffe!" A feminine voice boomed out over the silent guild. "Have you no manners? Why is that girl still naked? Get her to the infirmary, now." The emphasis put on the last word had the little redhead looking up to see the white haired MiraJane in her Satan Soul and glaring at the slayer with enough anger to send a slight shiver down the girl's spine.

Sting didn't respond and in no time, Kathryn was being place gently into a comfortable bed and covered with a sheet. She looked around to see that she was absolutely in an infirmary, a sink and medicine cabinet nearby and IV equipment near the head of the bed she was currently in. She looked over at the people who had followed the two into the room and smiled a brightly to see that Wendy was one of those people.

"I'm happy to see that you got out safe," Kathryn told the girl when she approached.

Wendy smiled just as brightly, "It was only because of you, Kathryn-sama." She held out her hands, "Can I heal you again?" When she received a nod, the slayer began to use her magic to repair the damage that had been done to the older woman. Bruises faded until they were yellow, bones knit themselves back together, and cuts turned into puckered scars that would likely fade with time.

"Where are the others?" A small old man that Kathryn immediately identified as Master Makarov questioned Sting who was standing near the bed.

"They should be back any time now," The blond responded. "I caught the scent that Wendy told us about and told them I'd get her out so they could deal with the rest of the guild."

Makarov raised a brow, "I'm surprised you didn't want to stay and fight and see if one of the others would bring her back." When Sting didn't respond and only crossed his arms over his chest and looked away with a huff, the old master shook his head and looked over at Kathryn. "You've done us quite the service, child. We were missing our Wendy quite dearly," He smiled at the redhead cheekily.

"I didn't want them to hurt her like they had me," Kathryn cast her eyes down, attempting to keep the double meaning to herself.

"You mean the lacrama." The words had glowing yellow eyes snapping up sharply to the old man once more, seeing him nod. "We know what happened to you, child. Wendy managed to grab their file on you when she escaped," Makarov pulled a thick folder from the counter across the room and opened it. "You're not from this world, they kidnapped you from your own world and implanted a lacrama, preventing you from going home."

The more he said, the more sadness that shown on the young woman's face. Kathryn couldn't stop the emotions from coming up, her eyes began to sting from the unshed tears at the listing of everything that'd been done to her. Falen had, apparently, written down every time they'd tortured her and had kept record of what they knew of her old life.

She looked down at her hands, twisting her fingers together anxiously. "I have nothing to go back to," The woman responded when she was asked if she wanted to go home. She sighed heavily, droplets of tears falling onto the sheet she was wrapped in, her emotional shell finally cracking. "I've been here for over six months, my own family didn't want me back on my world, why would I go back to that? It'd be the same for me there as it is here, alone. I'm just… alone." She clenched her fists, bunching up the blanket until her knuckles went white from her death grip on the fabric.

"You don't have to be alone, child," Makarov's voice brought some comfort as he placed a wrinkled hand on the pale fists of the young woman. "You are more than welcome to join Fairy Tail."

Kathryn's breath caught in her throat as she looked up at the Master. Relief washed through her before doubt rushed in and shoved the feeling aside. "But I'm useless," She managed, her throat hurting from the tangle of emotions within her.

"You saved me," Wendy said, catching the attention of the three older mages. "I saw your magic, it's very strong."

"But I don't know anything about being a mage. I didn't even ask for this power! It's-it's-"

"Child, none of us ask for our magic," Makarov cut off the hysterical woman with a pat to her hands. "If you do not want to join, you are free to leave whenever you choose to. Take your time to think about it." He turned and signaled to Sting and Wendy to follow him out of the room.

The blond seemed slightly torn, glancing back to the emotionally drained woman and then sighed and headed for the door. Wendy smiled at Kathryn once the two men had left, "Get some rest, Kathryn-sama. I hope you do choose to join, Fairy Tail is a home for everyone with no home."

With that, the redhead was left alone in the room, the only sound was her heart beating erratically with her thoughts. Join Fairy Tail? Her? Could she really? What if they abandoned her like everyone else had? Would the rest of the guild even want her? What about her magic? It was dangerous and was likely to freak people out. God, what if she wasn't able to find work because of her eyes?

Her mind suddenly went blank as the exhausted woman fell asleep, slumping back onto the hospital bed as tears silently trailed down her cheeks.

* * *

Sounds outside of the infirmary door awoke Kathryn, her eyes creaking open to the darkness signifying only a few hours had passed. She sat up slowly and glanced around before remembering that she was no longer in her cell within Wyvern Wing but, in fact, in Fairy Tail. She was free.

"Don't be stupid." She heard someone say outside of the room.

"I'm not giving this up, Rogue," She recognized Sting's voice on the other side of the door. "If she leaves, I'm going with her." Was he talking about her? But, why? Why did he care so much?

"How do you even know that she's the one?" The other person asked, sounding slightly irritated. "You could be wrong."

"I'm not wrong about this, Rogue," Sting snapped, sounding equally as irritated. "She's felt alone for long enough. I've been able to feel my mate's loneliness and pain for way too long and I'm not letting it continue. She won't feel that way any longer if I have any say in it."

There was a pause and then a sigh form the other person, Rogue. Kathryn recalled an image of the dark haired man who she remembered as being Sting's partner in the anime and manga. She could almost see the disapproval on his face as he huffed. But what had Sting said? Mate? What did that have to do with her? She couldn't be something so permanent to someone when she wasn't even from this world, could she?

"If you have to leave the guild for her, I guess I'll just have to come with you," Rogue said, surprising Kathryn, and by the sound of stunned silence, Sting as well. There were no brotherly pats on the back or words of encouragement, simply those few words of support from one man to another and that's what made Kathryn blink back tears. She'd never had that kind of support in her life and she felt so happy for Sting that he had someone like that for himself.

Smiling slightly, Kathryn settled back onto the bed and closed her eyes. She would be fine, she knew, especially if she really was Sting's mate. From old tales about dragons, she knew that they were extremely protective of things and others they claimed and that a mate was held above all else.

Maybe, just maybe, she'd finally found the cure for her loneliness.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N;** _New chapter! This chapter wasn't really the way I was going to put it out as, but I couldn't think of a good way to alter it to still fit the story. This is the best it was going to get, in my opinion... Anyways!_

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 _ **Enjoy**_ _ **, my delicate marionettes!**_

 _ **~ MrsPuppetEx**_

* * *

The sunlight warmed her skin as Kathryn wandered through a field outside of Fairy Tail she'd found after Mira had brought her some clothing. She had a lot of thinking to do and the redhead had always done her best thinking outside and alone, soaking in the feel of the sun's rays on her body.

Nothing, to her, was better than finally having the chance to feel this once more after so long of being locked away from the outside world. Her bare feet sunk into the thick green grass, small flowers bursting through the green expanse for a splash of color. She could hear animals in the surrounding forest, going about their mornings with the fervor only the wild and free could have.

Sighing, she flopped down in the grass, her face turned up towards the warm glow of the sun that had just settled into it's place above the horizon line. Kathryn knew she needed to decide if she would be staying with Fairy Tail, she just didn't know if that would be a good idea. She was obviously an inexperienced mage and, really, what good would that do the guild?

Makarov hadn't pushed her to stay, neither had anyone else who'd seen her as she'd walked out of the guild that morning to be outside. Everyone had seemingly backed off to give her the space she'd very much needed and that was perfectly fine with Kathryn, it gave her time to think.

Raising a finger, she imagined a paper in front of her and began to plot out the pro's and con's of staying in the guild. Pro's; family, not being alone… God, that second one was the one that would push her to stay the most, in itself. She was so tired of being alone, it was grating on her nerves in a way nothing else had in her life. Con's; had nothing to offer the guild in return for her staying.

Kathryn dropped her hand and closed her eyes on another sigh, she had nothing to offer. Would that be so bad, though? They didn't seem to really expect anything in return for staying, but, Kathryn really hated feeling like she was just mooching off of those around her. Maybe she could find a way to repay the kindness they'd shown her by not only saving her from Wyvern Wing, but giving her the option of staying with them…

Her mind wandered in circles with her dilemma for what seemed like hours until a noise nearby had Kathryn's glowing eyes snapping open and she realized she'd fallen asleep in the sunlight at some point in time. A smiling face blocked out the sunlight and the redhead relaxed a bit when she recognized the sunny blonde who had interrupted her… nap.

"Hi," Lucy said as Kathryn sat up and looked at her curiously. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your nap, I was sent out to make sure you hadn't died or something." As she spoke, the Stellar Mage sat down in the grass next to her Dream Walking counterpart, bright smile still in place.

"I hadn't meant to fall asleep, it just kind of… happened." She glanced around the field, wary of the blonde's notoriously rambunctious team and relaxed when she neither saw nor heard them nearby.

"I do the same when looking up at the stars. It's always relaxing being outside," The busty woman stretched her legs out and leaned back on her arms, looking up at the sky.

Kathryn drug a hand through her choppy hair and sighed, "I wasn't allowed outside when I was brought here. This is the first time I've been able to feel the sunlight in over six months." She frowned a bit but shook the sadness off, she couldn't allow herself to dwell on it, she needed to find a way to move forward.

"What else did they do to you?" Lucy shook her head quickly, "Never mind, I'm sure you don't want to talk about that."

This brought a dry laugh from the redhead, "It's fine, I'm sure all of Fairy Tail is curious." She settled into a position mirroring Lucy, her pale skin seeming to glow in the sunlight. "The first thing I remember them doing was cutting my hair off. It was my pride and joy, my hair, something that I took pride in where I'd lost all pride in other aspects of my life. I think that's what broke me the most, losing the length of this ridiculous cloud of red I have." She pursed her lips, "I would be beat daily once my lacrama acclimated to my body, trying to get me to use my magic for their gain. I'm surprised I won't have any scars other than this one." She waved a hand over her sternum where a clean scar was present on her skin.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, for what it's worth," Lucy said sadly. The women stayed quiet for a moment before Lucy sat forward quickly and snapped her fingers, "I've got it! What if I can help get your hair back?"

Kathryn's red brows drew together, have her hair back? That was something she'd been dreading waiting for, but could she really accept even more help from people who had already done so much for her? "I… I can't ask for anything more from you all," She said quietly. "You've all helped me so much already, I'm not sure it would feel right."

"Fairy Tail is all about helping others," Lucy waved a dismissive hand. "They helped me more times I can count and everyone wants to help you. You don't have to be alone here, we all care."

Tears began welling up in glowing golden eyes as Kathryn's emotional dam cracked once more. "I just don't want to be a burden," She admitted softly. She'd been a burden for everyone in her past, her family, friends, even her husband. She didn't want to feel that way ever again.

"A burden is someone who has nothing to give in return," She put up a hand, stopping the argument on Kathryn's lips. "You being yourself and joining us on our fantastic adventures is more than enough for us to want to help you. Just let us help."

Kathryn huffed as she drew her knees up to her chest and stared up at the blue expanse of the sky that resembled the eyes of someone she'd been trying her best not to think of. Could she really just join them and let them help her? Honestly, it would be so easy to accept Fairy Tail as part of her family, to just let them heal that sad, lonely part of herself that seemed to ache the more time she spent away from everyone and everything.

She glanced over to see Lucy watching her carefully, waiting patiently for a response of some sort. The redhead gathered up her nerve, and smiled a bit, "Okay. I'll join."

Kathryn looked down at her forearm with a small smile on her face, the white fairy just lighter than her milky skin. She was part of Fairy Tail now and her heart felt a little lighter with that knowledge, though she still felt the slight twinge of loneliness creeping up inside of her. A slender finger traced the mark lovingly, appreciating every curve that created the fairy in flight.

She realized that by choosing to stay, she'd made it so that Sting and Rogue would also be staying in Fairy Tail. She hadn't spoken to Sting since he'd saved her, hadn't even heard his voice since that night when she'd heard him speaking to Rogue about her being his mate. She really did need to find out what that truly meant, honestly. It was one thing to say that a man was interested in a woman, but another to say that they were mates. It sounded so… Primal.

"You have a lovely smile, if you do not take offense in my saying so," A voice said from next to Kathryn, making the redhead jump a bit, her gaze falling on the green haired man of elegance, Freed. He gave a polite smile before bowing slightly, "Freed Justine."

"Kathryn Chamberlin," She responded. "And no, I don't mind you saying that. Thank you for the compliment."

Freed sat on the stool next to Kathryn, "But, of course. A lady such as yourself deserves only the most apt of praise. You are truly as beautiful as a freshly bloomed rose in the spring."

She blinked, realizing that the man really was hitting on her and not just being polite. This could be a sticky situation if she didn't handle it correctly as she knew that whatever she was to Sting, flirting with Freed could spell trouble for both men, herself as well. Catching the eye of Lucy, Kathryn silently pleaded with her eyes for rescue from the awkward situation.

Lucy, seeming to understand, bounded over, a bright smile on her face as she grasped the Dream Walker's arm. "Kat! I was just looking for you! The Master got an anonymous donation from someone in the guild for you to buy some clothes," She looped her arm with the woman's, giving a light tug. "Let's head out shopping before it gets too dark, then we'll have a sleep over at my apartment."

Kathryn smiled over at Lucy appreciatively before turning a guilty look at Freed. "I'm sorry, do you mind? I need clothing and-"

He waved an elegant hand before taking Kathryn's in his and brushing his lips over the knuckles of her pale hand. "Enjoy your time," His voice practically purred as green eyes looked nearly hungry up at her. "Perhaps you would indulge me in your presence another time."

"Right, let's go!" Lucy urged, dragging her new friend out of the guild under the curious gaze of many of the present mages. She giggled as they wandered down the road towards the shopping district. "What was that about? You looked like you were dying. Freed's not that awful, is he?"

A gentle sigh escaped Kathryn's lips as she drug a hand through her choppy hair. "No, honestly, he isn't bad at all," She looked down at the ground, her eyes focused on the path a moment as she decided whether she could trust the blonde. "I… I'm actually interested in someone else," She admitted quietly.

A trilling laugh had Kathryn looking up to see Lucy giggling, her hands clutching her stomach. "I'm sorry," She attempted to regain her composure under the dry look from her companion. "It's just that I never imagined you would admit something like that so easily. Who's the lucky guy?"

Kathryn blushed a bit, the curse of the redhead as it spread down her chest and arms, giving her whole upper body a pink hue. "U-um…" She chewed her lip, giving her hair a tug and feeling like a schoolgirl once more, talking about crushes during lunch or something. "S-Sting."

"Sting?!" Lucy nearly shouted before Kathryn's hand slammed over her mouth and the smaller woman's momentum from moving so quickly had them both toppling over on the sidewalk, Kathryn's face landing square between Lucy's breasts.

Kathryn flushed once more and scrambled to get up, her knees, left bare below the hem of the shorts she'd been loaned from the blonde woman, scraping a bit along with her elbows. She helped the blonde to her feet and giggled a bit when she began rubbing a sore spot on her behind.

"You're a lot faster and heavier than one would expect from a woman your size," Lucy giggled as the two resumed their walk towards a clothing shop down the street. "I'm sorry for shouting it, it's just… Why him? He's a flirt, sure, but I figured you wouldn't be interested in a player like that."

The redhead tucked her tongue between her teeth, trying to decide if she wanted to tell someone about what she'd heard. Lucy seemed trustworthy enough, so Kathryn shrugged inwardly at her indecisiveness on telling the woman anything. "I heard him and Rogue talking last night…"

Lucy's eyes went wide when Kathryn finished the retelling of the events of the previous night. "There's no way," She mumbled almost to herself as she chewed her thumb. "I can't believe Sting is even acknowledging that he even has a mate, let alone accepting who it is when you two don't even know each other."

"Wait, so you know what a mate is?" Kathryn couldn't help but ask as she had next to no information and knew that Lucy's best friend was a slayer and had likely told her what was up with it in preparation for when he'd found his mate.

"Sure," Lucy nodded thoughtfully. "Natsu told me that a mate is the one person who completes a slayer's soul. They are usually chosen at birth, but if a mate dies before a slayer can claim them, a new mate can be chosen at any time by the slayer's own soul. My guess is that Minerva was probably Sting's mate and seeing as she died in prison two years ago, his soul chose you when you appeared in this world."

"Okay, that makes sense," The Dream Walker tilted her head as they walked into a boutique and began sifting through clothing. "What does being a mate mean, though?"

"Well, Natsu said that a mate is held above all else," Lucy began, holding up a pair of shorts and tilting her head at the redhead. After receiving a nod, she placed it on the rack a worker had provided and continued her search. "A slayer will do anything to make sure that their mate is happy, meaning that the money that was 'anonymously donated' for you to buy these clothes is likely from Sting himself as he would want to make sure you had everything you needed."

Kathryn nodded, that made sense, she supposed. She held up a flowing shirt in a pale yellow that had billowing sleeves and cut outs in the shoulders, she pursed her lips before placing it on the rack. "Okay, so he would provide for me monetarily, if I need it, as he is now, except he did it without me knowing likely to keep me from being weirded out."

"Yeah," Lucy confirmed, placing a couple more garments on the rack. "Sting has dated a lot of girls, I won't lie to you. He's known as a bit of a player, but if you're his mate, the only thing he'll be thinking about is you and making you happy."

The smaller woman smiled softly as she found a shirt almost the exact shade of blue as Sting's eyes and placed it on the rack. "Then I guess I'll just have to accept what we are to each other and figure out how to keep Freed off of me."

"Definitely," The blonde affirmed, nodding her head once. "I'll find out how to keep Rogue busy as well to give you and Sting some time alone together." Kathryn didn't miss the slight smile that formed on her friend's face at the mention of Sting's partner. She decided she would pry into that bit of information at a later date as she needed to figure out her own life first, she needed to start putting herself before others more often in some situations, that was the problem in her previous life.

Smiling, she enjoyed the rest of her evening shopping with Lucy and laughing about some of the crazy things that her team had done. This was what she needed, to laugh and simply get along with someone who was genuinely interested in her opinions on things and to tell her about their own life.

Kathryn could see this place becoming her true home, something she couldn't really say she'd felt ever in the twenty years of her life.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Kat," Lucy's voice drew the attention of Kathryn from the book she'd been reading in a corner on the history of Fiore. She'd been trying to learn everything she could and had borrowed a pair of Gale Force Reading Glasses from Levy for this very purpose.

She took off the glasses and blinked her glowing eyes free of the words and smiled up at the blonde who sat down across from her. "What's up, Lucy?"

"I'm going to be going on a job with my team," She said, her cheerful face dropping a bit as she spoke, though she kept the happy glint in her doe eyes. "You're more than happy to join us, if you'd like."

Kathryn shook her head, "I don't think I'm ready. Even so, I promised Mira to help around the guild a bit."

Lucy nodded, "Well, I'll leave you a key to the apartment, I trust you not to destroy it or anything while I'm gone." She chuckled dryly, likely remembering all the times her team had done exactly as she trusted Kathryn not to do. "Anyways," She continued. "I'll be back in about a week. I'll have Virgo check in on you and make sure things are going well."

"Thanks, have fun with your team," The redhead giggled a bit as she pocketed the key that was proffered to her.

Once again left alone, Kathryn stretched her back a bit and took a sip of the green tea that Mira had supplied her with earlier that day. It had gone a bit cold, but Kathryn liked the taste of lukewarm tea, something that boggled the mind of any who drank the herbal drink. Unwrapping a lollipop from the small pile nearby, she stuck the sugar treat in her mouth and opened another book, this one on her magic, and skimmed over it without her glasses to give her eyes a bit of a rest.

The book seemed only to tell Kathryn things that she already knew of her magic; she could sift through a person's mind for any dream they've had in their life, make them relive those dreams, could pull out the dreams and place them in another person's mind if she so chose to. She sighed heavily, closing the book and setting it gently aside before flopping her head forward on the table, the stick of the lollipop sticking out of her mouth at an odd angle as she groaned quietly.

"She seems upset about something," She heard someone nearby say.

"I'm going over there, she could need a friend," Someone else said.

"Leave her be," The first person warned. "She'll be fine."

"But- oh. Guess it's too late, Gajeel is already over there."

Curious, one yellow eye opened to see the looming form of the Iron Dragon Slayer, studded arms crossed over his chest. Kathryn frowned up at him, not even bothering to lift her head as her long hair, courtesy of Lucy's spirit, Cancer, spilled across the table between them. "What?"

"Yer groanin' and moanin' is puttin' off my appetite," The slayer stated, as if it were obvious what she'd been doing wrong.

"So? Why is that my problem?" Kathryn knew she was picking a fight with the wrong person, but couldn't be bothered to care. She hated when people had bad attitudes with her and dished just as good as she took, even in the most precarious of situations.

Gajeel narrowed ruby eyes at the small woman, placing a hand down on the table and leaning forward a bit. "Stop yer bitchin' or I'll give ya somethin' to bitch about."

Kathryn rose a red brow as she sat up, irritation at the situation brimming as the pair attracted more and more attention within the guild. She hated to cause a scene, but the man was seriously beginning to annoy her. "Fuck off," Her barely-sheathed frustration had her face and chest flushing a pale pink as her eyes narrowed at the raven-haired man.

When Gajeel opened his mouth to speak, Kathryn's yellow eyes burst into light, her magic quickly coursing between them and locking the man in position, his face frozen into a picture of shock as his mouth gaped open. The redhead sifted through his dreams, looking for something particularly tasty to use on the man. She smirked and cut off her magic once she had the dream wrapped up tight in her grasp.

"Say one more word," She warned so quietly that only those with slayer hearing could discern, "And this dream gets broadcasted to the entire guild."

"Put it back," Gajeel ordered, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Make me," Kathryn challenged with a wicked grin, flirting with the devil.

Everyone in the guild gasped slightly when the slayer moved quickly and had the tiny woman pinned to the wall by the throat, his arm covered in metallic scales, nails biting into her flesh. He was growling menacingly, his face extremely close to the woman's who had a pleasant smile upon her own face.

"Mmm…" Kathryn hummed, licking her lips and winking. "Don't threaten me with a good time." She nearly snorted in laughter when the slayer's expression morphed into one of shock for just a moment. "Would you like to see my dreams, Gajeel?"

She didn't wait for a response, but, instead, pulled up her most recent naughty dream and used her magic to push it into his mind, broadcasting the image to him. One of her, spread out on a bed, naked, with chains around each limb. A man, indiscernible in the dream, lifted a flog and struck her pale flesh along the chest, leaving red welts in it's wake, a small gasping moan leaving the woman's mouth as she shook in pain and pleasure, obvious moisture appearing within the bare juncture between her thighs.

When Kathryn cut off the dream, she had the pleasure of seeing the slayer's tanned face with a slight red flush on his cheeks. She shifted slightly so that his nails nicked her flesh and let out the softest of moans, so quiet that, again, only the slayers would be able to hear it. Gajeel's gaze immediately turned to the plump lips of the woman and his tongue subconsciously slid across his own.

What happened next was almost too fast for even the slayers in the room to follow. The doors of the guild slammed open and a stream of light shot across the room, knocking the Iron Slayer onto the ground in the blink of an eye. Just as the small redhead was about to hit the ground, she was caught by a streak of black and placed gently to her feet.

She looked up into the ruby gaze of Rogue, her mate's partner, and then her eyes went wide when she heard the unmistakable sounds of fighting. Shoving the man aside, she growled deep in her throat at the sight of Sting and Gajeel trading blows, moving almost too quickly for her to see. Marching over to the pair, she moved between them and smirked in satisfaction when their fists paused immediately, the rush of air near each side of her face nearly making her flinch.

"What the fuck do you two think you're doing?" The small woman ordered, looking between the two with narrowed eyes and tapping her foot as if she were talking to misbehaving children.

"He attacked me first," Gajeel grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest and looking away.

"He had you by the throat!" Sting's blue eyes locked onto the blood beading on Kathryn's neck and they immediately flashed yellow, a feral growl coming from his mouth as he stared at the spot. Light built around his body as white etchings formed upon his skin, scales becoming evident along his body.

"Get out of the way," Rogue's calm voice broke Kathryn's awestruck silence as she gaped at the man before her. "He won't hurt you, but you should move."

Kathryn shook herself free of the shock at seeing the change in Sting, her eyes staying on the man and softening a bit as she approached him. She ignored the words of warning from those in the guild, focusing on him and him alone, placing her hand to his cheek and gently pulling his face until his eyes were on her own. She smiled gently, "It's okay, Firefly. I'm fine, see?"

"He drew your blood. I'll kill him," Sting said through clenched teeth, his hands balled into fists at his sides, a fierce white glow surrounding them.

Sighing, Kathryn drew up her magic for the third time that day and sifted through Sting's mind. She was taken aback when she saw the dream he'd had the previous night, gasping a bit in surprise at the vision of he and herself in a large house. She had her hair pulled up in a high ponytail and was at the stove of a wonderful kitchen, flipping pancakes in a skillet, dressed in nothing but panties and a baggy white shirt.

Sting came into view, walking up behind her and nuzzling her neck as his arms wound around her waist, making her giggle. He reached behind her and turned the stove off before giving her a tug and leading her into another room, still behind her and grinning against the skin of her neck as he placed kisses along a shining yellow sun that lay emblazoned on the spot above her pulse.

Breaking her magic off, Kathryn could only stare up into the now-blue eyes of the man before her. Her heart was racing, no words coming to mind as she stayed trapped in the expanse of blue before her. She vaguely heard murmurings of those around them, but couldn't be bothered to do anything more than as she was currently doing; drowning.

"You weren't supposed to see that," Sting's voice sounded almost ashamed, his hair falling over to cover his eyes from view.

Kathryn took offense to that, her brows drawing together in annoyance once more, the enchanting moment between them broken. She put her fingers on his chin, forcing his head up slightly so his gaze was level with hers once more. "Shut the fuck up. Let's go have lunch and we can talk," She ordered, glancing back at Gajeel with a death glare that silenced him on the spot and turning back to the blond before her. "Well?" She prompted, raising a brow expectantly.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he drew a hand through his spiky hair, "Yeah, alright."

Whatever she was expecting, she wasn't expecting to be led to a seaside restaurant on the outskirts of Magnolia. Kathryn fiddled with the flowing yellow blouse she'd bought the previous day with Lucy, crossing and re-crossing her legs as she looked over the menu, her tongue tucked between her teeth as she focused on the words before her. She glanced up from under her side-swept bangs every now and again to see Sting only staring at her and making her more nervous and fidgety.

Finally decided on what she wanted, she closed the menu and blew her unruly hair out of her face. "What?" She questioned the man seated across from her, slightly flustered. "Do I have something on my face?"

Sting shook his head and blinked, as if waking up from a dream. "No, sorry," He mumbled a bit to himself and sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon. He glanced over the menu and frowned as if he was considering something, looking up and frowning a bit deeper every time he locked eyes with Kathryn.

"I know that slayers eat a lot, so don't be embarrassed by how much you order," She assured him gently, offering a sincere smile. She shook her head when he opened his mouth to speak, "For one, Lucy is my roommate right now and, as much as I'd like to believe that hooligan of a best friend of hers is the only one who can eat as much as he does, I was given the run-down of everything having to do with slayers."

"Everything?"

Kathryn didn't miss the worry that seemed to cloud his voice as Sting watched her carefully. "Even if he hadn't told me about mates," She began, unfolding her napkin and placing it into her lap as she nibbled on a piece of bread. "I heard you and Rogue talking the other night."

This confession caused Sting to frown, his forehead creasing the tiniest bit with the downturn to the corners of his, very kissable, mouth. "I didn't realize you heard us, or even woke up," He tugged on his earring, leaning back in his chair.

"I'm a light sleeper, always have been," Kathryn admitted, trying to keep herself from imagining herself sucking on his earlobe. "And since I was blindfolded for so long, my hearing is better than most."

At this point, the waitress, a bubbly brunette with big baby blue eyes and her chest spilling out of her shirt, wandered over, giggling and all eyes for Sting, who looked annoyed by her presence. "Hi, I'm Carmen," She introduced herself, still not even sparing Kathryn a glance. "I'll be your waitress this afternoon. What can I get for you, gorgeous?"

Sting rattled off his order and rose his brows over at Kathryn, waiting for her to order. She tucked her hair behind her ear and lifted a leg onto the chair, curling it under herself as the other dangled freely. "I'll have the shrimp scampi, but can I maybe get rice instead of pasta?" She questioned politely, smiling up at Carmen, only to frown when she saw she wasn't being spared a glance. "Excuse me?"

She began to get frustrated as she was once again ignored, but Sting narrowed his eyes up at the woman. "The lady here is trying to order, either take her order or I'll have to ask to speak to the manager," He snapped, none-too-irritated sounding.

The brunette seemingly rolled her eyes and, for the first time, looked over at Kathryn with a rather bored expression. When the redhead repeated her question, the waitress shook her head immediately. "It's pasta. If you don't want pasta, order something else. There's a kid's menu in the back."

Kathryn ground her teeth, struggling to stay pleasant even at being referred to as a child. "I'm not a child, thank you, but I will keep that in mind, _sweetie_ ," She drew out the last word, knowing it would annoy the woman. "If I can't trade that out for rice, what rice dishes do you have?" Kathryn knew she was going out on a limb with requesting such a thing from the waitress, but she was attempting to bridge the gap between them in the most polite way she could manage.

"They're all listed under the 'rice' section."

"What would you recommend?"

Carmen huffed but crossed her arms over her chest as she thought. "I like the garlic shrimp and scallops with white rice. It's not too bad."

Kathryn smiled in victory and closed her menu, "That sounds great, I'll have that." When the waitress walked away, she turned to the quiet snickering from across the table and tilted her head. "What's so funny?"

Sting waved a hand, "You. You just tore her down without any effort at all."

She shrugged as she took a sip of the raspberry iced tea she'd ordered before, smiling a bit. "You have to know how to handle rude customers where I'm from. I treated her the way she was trained to treat unruly people," She paused as she thought. "Basically, the nicer you are to someone, the more likely they are to be nice back to you. Good promotes good, and all that."

Sting pursed his lips a moment and nodded, "Alright, I'll give you that. But what if the person is inherently evil?"

"You mean like Jiemma was?" She smirked at his raised eyebrow, "I know more than you think. Where I'm from, this world is known as an anime and manga."

"Okay, that makes sense," He nodded once more before gesturing with his hand. "Continue what you were going to say."

"Jiemma was evil, but if someone had come along who would have been able to out-manipulate him the way he did to others, he likely would have been saved," Kathryn explained. "He got drunk on power and didn't have a woman who balanced that masculinity out."

"Not every man needs a woman."

"Ah, see," Kathryn grinned at Sting, enjoying their little debate more than he was likely aware of. "That's where you're wrong. There's a saying where I'm from. 'Behind every good man is a woman with a clipboard, calling the shots.' Basically, every man needs a woman who can put them in their place, not let them let things get to their heads."

A smirk formed on Sting's face, making Kathryn want to just jump his bones right then and there, screw trying to get to know him first. "I've done fine without a woman for twenty-two years."

"Sure," She said slowly, breaking off another tiny piece from the breadstick she'd begun earlier. "But you would do better if you had a woman who would help you out when things get tough."

"Like you?"

This comment caused Kathryn's entire face to flush brilliantly, her skin tinting nearly the same color as her hair. "U-um," She stammered, looking down and shielding her face with her hair. "You dreamt that, not me." She hadn't realized she'd been tearing her breadstick into tiny pieces until Sting's rough hands covered hers, ceasing the nervous motions.

"If you saw that, then you know what I see our future as," His voice was serious enough that Kathryn looked up into intense sea-blue eyes, a depth of emotion within them making her breath catch in her throat. "You're my mate and I plan on getting to know you and, one day, having a life with you."

Kathryn gaped like a fish for a moment, but closed her eyes, shaking her head to gather her thoughts. He was jumbling her mind unlike anyone had before and it was frustrating and perplexing at the same time. She was a level-headed woman and she wasn't so easily flustered in the past. She needed to nut up, or shut up.

Finally a bit calm, she smiled softly at the slayer, "Then next time I'm messing with someone, don't interfere or you won't have a life to live because I'll have murdered you in cold blood."


	6. Chapter 6

The two returned to the guild after their meal, Kathryn skipping along in her strappy sandals, her hair gently floating in the wind. She entered the guild ahead of Sting, running and hiding behind the bar, giggling, as he ran in, his blue eyes narrowed and fierce.

"I can smell you, woman," He growled, catching the attention of everyone present as they turned concerned glances to the visibly irritated man.

Kathryn struggled to muffle her giggles as she shook her head at Mira's questioning glance. The barmaid smiled sweetly and returned her focus to manning the bar, signaling to everyone not to mention where the redhead was hidden. The guild seemed to collectively agree and returned to their boisterous ways, the volume level rising a bit.

Hiding her prize in her pocket, Kathryn moved ever so slowly to the end of the bar, crawling as silently as she could across the wooden floors. She peeked her head around the corner and nearly screamed in fright when she came face-to-face with the slayer's blue eyes, a blond brow quirked up at her. She giggled and attempted to run, only to be snagged around the waist and thrown over his shoulder.

"Give it back, you little thief," Sting chuckled as he spun in circles, making the small woman upon his shoulder's head reel from dizziness.

Kathryn giggled, struggling to get free. "I don't have it! I threw it!" She shouted, giving a small yelp of surprise when a rough hand swatted her round ass. "Hands off the merchandise, buddy."

"Give it back and I'll put you down," The blond countered, swatting her ass a second time and chuckling when she smacked his shoulder.

"I hid it! You gotta find it!" Kathryn singsonged, biting her lip to control her laughter.

Sting's brow rose as he swatting her ass for the third time, his eyes going wide when she moaned quietly. Taking his moment of surprise to an advantage, Kathryn wiggled just enough to get to her feet and ran across the guild, hiding on the opposite side of Cobra, who sat at the bar drinking his bleach silently. The maroon haired slayer spared her a glance before looking over at his fellow slayer.

"It's in her front pocket," Cobra informed Sting, smirking at the thoughts running through Kathryn's head at this betrayal. "Not really a betrayal if we haven't even spoken before, Little Bit."

Kathryn stared at the slayer, debating in her mind whether to go through his dreams and make him an offer he couldn't refuse to consider him an ally. He would no doubt prove useful in the future with his magic, both of his magics, honestly. The dilemma being if she could lock the Soul Listener in place long enough to find what she needed.

"You don't want to see what I dream about," He smirked at her, making the woman's eyes narrow in suspicion. "What you showed Gajeel earlier is nothing. You're vanilla as far as I'm concerned, Little Bit."

Kathryn pursed her lips in thought, a small smile stretching across her face as she drew up memories of her more intense dreams, making the slayer's eyes go wide. She took his moment of surprise to use her magic, her eyes lighting up and hair floating almost ethereally as the spell pulled them together. Sifting through his dreams, she gasped in shock at what she saw before quickly releasing the grasp on the older man and taking an involuntary step back, her eyes darting over to Sting before looking back at the Poison Slayer.

Cobra's amethyst eye narrowed at Kathryn, annoyance flowing off of him in droves. "I told you not to look," He said. "Now we have a problem and things are going to get messy."

"What kind of problem?" Sting asked cautiously, moving behind the red haired woman and placing a protective hand on her lower back.

"Every slayer, Team Natsu, the Raijinshuu, and Kathryn," Laxus' booming voice sounded from the stairway, the Master standing next to him. "Up to the Master's office, now."

Kathryn's brows drew together in confusion and frustration before walking up to the Master's office with the rest of those called. She was quickly moved to the front of the room and seated next to Lucy in the visitor's chair by the desk. "I thought you guys went on a mission?" She asked her roommate questioningly.

Lucy leaned over towards the redhead, "The Master called us back, apparently there is something important that could affect everyone."

"What's going on, Gramps?" Natsu asked in his usual hyper-activeness. "Do we need to beat somebody up?"

The Master, seated upon his desk shook his head, "No, Natsu. Please just be quiet and listen." His wise eyes scanned over the faces of everyone present before falling on Kathryn. "How many of you have felt a pull towards our newest member?"

Kathryn glanced around at the question, her glowing eyes seeing the hands raising of Sting, Gajeel, Cobra, Laxus, and Bickslow. She looked back at Makarov, her lips parted slightly as she attempted to find the words to speak. She was mostly confused by what was happening, but knew what was happening at the same time due to seeing what Cobra had dreamed of.

"What does this mean?" Erza questioned, her face stern as she looked from the Master to Kathryn and back. "Why are they all pulled towards her?"

"Because she is the mate to each of them." The room broke into a wall of noise, everyone talking at once as they all asked the questions Kathryn wished she could ask.

She sat silently, her heart in her throat as she stared at the Master, eyes wide with shock. She was the mate to not one, but five men? What in the world was going on? How could this be? Why? What was going to happen to her? She couldn't really be with all of them, could she? She began to feel hot as her head swam with questions, a dizzy feeling washing over her as the world spun.

Just as she looked around at everyone clambering for answers, the world gave one final loop and her eyes locked with Cobra's. She opened her lips to say something, but only a whimper came out as she toppled to the side. The last thing she saw before blackness swept over her was Cobra moving towards her.

* * *

For the second time in a week, Kathryn awoke in an infirmary bed. She opened her eyes and attempted to sit up, whimpering a bit from the soreness behind her eyes and flopping back down in the bed. Glancing around, she saw the five men who had been labeled as her mates in various positions around the room.

Gajeel stood by the window, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked outside, PantherLily on his shoulder. Laxus in a similar position, leaned against the wall by the door, his face nearly bored in expression. Sting's face was serious as he sprawled out in the chair near the bed, his hand over his face, Lector asleep in his lap. Bickslow sat on the floor near Laxus, playing with his Babies and chuckling to himself. Cobra stood with his hands in his pockets, eyes closed as he listened to people's thoughts, likely.

They all looked hunky in their own ways and Kathryn felt herself blush a bit when she realized that Cobra'd heard the errant thought, his mouth quirking a bit in amusement. In a moment, all eyes were on her, making the redhead slightly uncomfortable at being the center of attention. She attempted to sit up once more, nearly flopping back before something was behind her shoulders, supporting her until she'd sat up fully.

Glancing over, she was met with the sight of Bickslow's babies, the small totems pushed together until the woman was leaned against pillows that Sting had pushed up for her. The spirits giggled and twirled around her head, making her smile a bit as she reached up and stroked one with a frown with a delicate finger. "Thank you," She whispered softly, her smile widening as the totem giggled and twirled once more, apparently showing it's pleasure in her gratefulness.

"Done fainting there, Carrot Cake?"

Kathryn looked up at Laxus who had raised a brow in her direction and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry… It was just…" She trailed off, uncertain how to continue without sounding like an idiot. In all honesty, the news had been a lot, especially when she'd been locked away in a prison only a couple days prior to all of this happening.

"No one blames you for how this is affecting you," Cobra said, narrowing his amethyst eye at her. "It's a lot for all of us, too."

Glowing eyes glanced at each of the men, receiving nods of agreement from them all. She looked back at Cobra, "Why aren't you being an asshole to me?"

He shrugged and stuck a tooth pick in his mouth. "You're my mate, I can feel the emotional bullshit you're dealing with, like any of them. Don't see a reason to add to it," He mumbled around the sliver of wood.

"You can all feel that?" She asked, looking at the other men.

"It's different for me because I'm not a slayer and you're my Soul Mate and not Slayer Mate," Bickslow said matter-of-factly. "I can sense your soul's tension but not in the same way they feel it."

Kathryn's mouth formed a little 'o', trying to understand the differences. "So, do we know how or why this happened?" She questioned, her analytical mind taking center stage and attempting to work out the problem at hand.

"It's not really a problem to me," Cobra shrugged once more, leaning back against the counter behind him. "I'm not a fan of sharing, but I'm not against it."

"Ditto," Bickslow agreed from his place on the floor, letting his tongue hang out. "Sharing is caring and all that."

Kathryn rolled her eyes at his audaciousness and looked up at Laxus who mirrored Cobra as he shrugged. "Not like we have a choice," He mumbled gruffly.

"From what I saw of that dream," Gajeel cut in, looking away from the window. "Yer more 'en enough woman to keep us all satisfied in ev'ry way. Gihihi."

Kathryn blushed a bit at that comment, looking down and fiddling with her hands before sighing and looking up at Sting, who hadn't said a word this whole time. "Sting?"

He sighed, wiping his hand over his face as he lowered it. "It's not ideal," He admitted, before flashing a devilish smirk. "But I'm not worried. What I said earlier is true, I want a life with you. It just happens that I'm not the only one who is destined to be in your life."

"So, what? I just date all of you?" She blanched a bit. "What will people think about that?"

"Not like it hasn't happened before." She looked over to see Gajeel rubbing his neck. "Metallicana said that it wasn't uncommon for dragons and slayers to be mated to the same female because it increased the female's protection and survival chance. Said that the most he'd seen were twelve mated to the same female at one time."

Kathryn let her mind try to wrap around that idea, having twelve mates. She only had five and it seemed like it was more than enough, and, yet, she did strangely feel safe near all of them, even if she did have a couple perverts and a couple with notoriously bad attitudes in the ranks. Twelve would be far too many, she decided.

"So, why has been answered, but how? Like, how me? I'm not even from here."

"Best any of us can guess is we all had other mates at some point that died before we either met them or mated them," Cobra answered for the group. "I'm nearly certain I was mated to Angel and she died in prison recently."

"Minerva did as well," Sting added, nodding.

"Not sure who mine was," Gajeel sounded irritated. "Probably someone who I hadn't met."

"Mine died in a house fire when we were kids," Bickslow chimed in, his frown evident of the pain he'd felt. Kathryn felt the pain through a weird line she felt between herself and the man and sent reassurance back to him, hoping to make him feel a bit better.

"Ivan killed my first mate when she wasn't what he thought was worthy of creating his future grandchildren," Laxus sounded pissed, like he'd rip off someone's head if they brought it up again. Kathryn, once more sent reassurance through the line she decided must be his bond, trying her best to relax her mates as well as she knew how.

"So, when I appeared, I fit the bill for each of you and filled in the gaps?" Kathryn questioned, thinking she'd figured it out.

"That sounds about right," Sting decided, nodding as he reached over and rubbed Kathryn's tiny balled-up fist and trying to soothe her tension.

"What if there's more?" She asked softly, her voice near breaking at the thought. She'd only just begun working with Sting on what their relationship would be and then she'd been thrown into the wolves- or dragon's, in this case- den. She wasn't sure she could handle it if there were more than these five and she ended up with another surprise at some point in her life.

"I can read your soul and be able to tell us all if that happens," Bickslow said, hopping to his feet lithely.

Kathryn looked over at the man and smiled gently, "That would help if it works. But, what would you see?"

"When someone is mated to either a Soul Mage of some kind or a slayer, their soul contains a gap within it that will become filled by their mate. If you are only mated to us five, there should only be five gaps," He shrugged, grinning a bit. "Same goes for each of us. We would only have one gap that would be filled by your soul."

The redhead nodded as she tucked her tongue between her teeth, thinking it through. This made complete sense, in a way. She would be connected to each of them somehow, and what better way than through the soul? "Okay," She nodded once more and smiled up to her Seith Mage. "Go ahead."

Bickslow grinned and pulled his visor off, revealing his red eyes to her for the first time. "Stay still, babe. Don't wanna hurt you." Then, without further warning, his eyes flashed green and Kathryn gasped in shock, feeling his magic worm it's way into her mind, body, and soul. A moment later, it was over and she was looking back at the bluenette, a smirk still on his face. "Looks like we're good," He smirked. "Get you all to ourselves."

"That's a relief," Kathryn said, tilting her head to the side. "Your magic felt weird but good at the same time. Like it was coaxing me to leave my body."

Bickslow's tongue lolled out of his mouth and his eyes shut on his grin. "I'll show you something else that'll feel weird and good at the same time, all you gotta do is ask, babe."

The redhead flushed a bit and looked away, hiding behind her hair in embarrassment. "So, what does being a mate mean?"

"That any or all of us would die to protect you," Gajeel answered automatically.

"We'd do anything to make sure you're happy and taken care of," Sting continued, his thumb still stroking her knuckles soothingly and coaxing her out from behind her hair.

"So, we're really going to just accept this?"

Laxus was the one who answered, making Kathryn's yellow eyes go wide for a second in shock. "We're going to do what we can, Carrot Cake."

"I go from no sex life at all to being mated to five men," She mumbled to herself, not thinking they could all hear her clearly. "Jesus fucking help me."


	7. Chapter 7

Kathryn wandered her way to Lucy's apartment after the little pow-wow she'd had with what she was affectionately referring to as her "Royal Guard". Laxus had requested the time alone with her for the evening, walking alongside the small woman with his hands in his pockets. He sighed once in a while, making the woman next to him glance over curiously.

On the fifth sigh, she stopped walking and stared at him as he took another long stride before stopping and turning to look at her. Kathryn put her hands on her hips and did her best to look stern, only managing to look adorable instead of menacing with her cheeks puffed out in frustration. "I'm sorry if I'm boring you," She snapped. "You asked to be the one to walk me home tonight. You don't have to be an ass about it."

Stormy eyes narrowed as the hulking man took two strides forward and towered over the extremely short woman. He leaned forward, smirked, and simply plucked her off the ground, tossing her over his shoulder and continuing the journey back to Lucy's apartment.

Kathryn let out an indignant shout, pounding her fists on the man's broad shoulders. "Set me down, you big fucking ape! What is with you fucking giants and picking me up all the goddamn time?" She shouted, wiggling her ass to try to get free.

Laxus, in a display similar to his fellow blond, smacked his hand across Kathryn's ass, earning a yelp of surprise. "Stay still, woman. You walk too slow," He said gruffly.

"I'm literally five feet tall! Of course I don't walk as fast as you fucking giant ass motherfuckers!"

"Sounds like my mate has a mouth on her," The slayer noted almost to himself. "Might have to wash that pretty mouth out with soap."

"You will do no such fucking thing, you dickweed. Now, put me down!"

He simply ignored her screaming as he turned a corner and continued to walk, grinning a bit to himself. Keeping his pace almost brisk, he followed the canal for a while before turning down yet another road, wondering when the woman on his shoulder would notice they were no longer headed towards Lucy's apartment.

It was almost instantaneous as she stopped struggling, shifting on his shoulder to look behind her to where they were headed. "Where are we going?" Kathryn asked, confusion clouding her voice. "Lucy's apartment is the other way."

"We're going to the park."

"Why?"

"Because I want to talk."

"About what?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?"

"No, now answer my question."

Laxus huffed, hefting the woman on his shoulder and smirking when he heard her soft 'oof'. "I want to get to know my mate without the others around."

"Oh."

"Just, 'oh'?" He rose a brow and shifted her until he was carrying her bridal-style down the empty street in the slowly dimming light.

Kathryn nodded, "It makes sense, so why would I argue?"

"You're a weird woman."

She shrugged before fiddling with the fur collar on his cloak. "I would have to be to be mated to five different men." They lapsed into silence a moment, much to Laxus' relief as he continued walking towards the park. "Hey, Laxus?"

He rolled his eyes and looked down at the woman in his arms. "What?"

"Are you really okay with this situation?"

He stared blankly down at Kathryn, his face turning to a frown as he thought. "Like Sting said earlier, it's not ideal, but we all have to be okay with it somehow. None of us have a choice in this."

"Oh. You just don't seem like the sharing type."

"I'm not."

"So, why?" Kathryn found herself unable to stop asking questions, she really wanted to know each of her mates' opinions on the situation. Their opinions actually mattered more than her own, in her mind. If they weren't happy, she couldn't see herself being happy, and that was a major problem for all of them if she wasn't happy, if she understood the whole "mate" thing correctly.

They lapsed into silence once more, the question hanging in the air as Laxus carried her across a field and placed her onto her feet. He shrugged off his cloak and spread it onto the grass before sitting down and stretching his long legs out as he stared up at the sky.

Kathryn sat next to him, curling her legs under herself as she watched the man's face closely. As the oldest of her Royal Guard, he was arguably the wisest. Having gone through everything he had, Laxus was far beyond his years, something of the father to the entire group. The thought made Kathryn giggle a bit into her hand, amusement brimming in her glowing eyes.

"What's so funny?" Laxus asked, looking over at his little mate.

"I was just thinking that you being the oldest of my little harem made you like the dad of the group."

His frown was instantaneous, the downturn on his lips making Kathryn lick her own subconsciously as she eyed him. "Never say that again," He deadpanned.

Shaking off her inappropriate thoughts, Kathryn looked back up into his gray eyes, "Say what?"

"You really are weird," Laxus said, shaking his head.

"You never answered my question before," She pointed out, moving a bit closer to him and looking up at the sky as stars twinkled into life above them.

Without thinking, Laxus pulled her close, tucking the softly shivering woman under his arm. "I'm not into sharing, but, it means that you'll be safer," He said, his mind seeming to wander with the words. "My inner dragon is telling me that your safety is the most important thing. I'm not the only one who needs you and, if it takes all of us to keep you safe and happy, I'm okay with sharing."

Kathryn leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling a bit as she relished in the warmth he was giving off. She understood his reasoning, knowing that he would be battling with his instincts to make her safe and happy, while also wanting to have her to himself. The enigma of a man was more kindhearted than most gave him credit for, his heart more generous and giving. He was likely the most romantic out of her men, knowing the best way to woo a woman and keep her content.

"You finally learn how to shut up?"

This comment brought a giggle from the woman, making her shift to peer up at the gruff man. "I'm just enjoying your company. I'm not sure how often I'll get time alone with any of you, honestly," She admitted, frowning a bit. "I'll have to make a schedule or something." She blanched at the thought, she hated trying to organize things and adhere to a schedule.

Laxus rested his cheek on the top of her head, sighing a bit. "We'll figure it out. Fiore wasn't built in a day, they say," He said softly, his breath coming out in a small cloud as the night began to chill.

* * *

"Yeah," Kathryn agreed, snuggling up to Laxus. "We'll figure it out."

"Movie night?" She repeated, looking up at the blond in front of her with a small smile on her face.

"Yeah," Sting confirmed. "We'll watch a couple movies and veg out. Just us."

Kathryn pursed her lips as she tilted her head to the side. "I'm not sure that's fair to the others. They haven't had as much time with me as you've had."

Sting rolled his eyes and sat next to his mate on her bench in the back corner of the guild. He threw an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, "You spent the past four mornings with Bickslow out in the training grounds."

"I'm learning acrobatics from him," Kathryn countered, frowning. "Training isn't really a date."

"It is when it's Bix and you're in those little yoga shorts and a sports bra." When she only rolled her eyes, Sting continued, "You've been giving Gajeel singing lessons."

"Again, not really a date, simply a training session of sorts."

"You're hanging out and doing something they want to do, it's a date."

"Whatever."

"You and Cobra are constantly at the bar, laughing with each other over Mavis knows what," He kept up with his short list. "And you went to dinner literally last night with Laxus."

"Okay, fine," Kathryn conceded, "We'll have a movie night. But what about Lector?"

"Lector is going with Frosch, Happy, and Lily on an all-night fishing trip."

"And Rogue?"

"He's taking a solo mission out near where Sabertooth used to be."

"You've thought of everything," Kathryn admired this fact in each of her mates, they all seemed to plan everything ahead when they wanted something from her. Laxus had made it a point to learn what food she liked before asking her to dinner the night before, Bickslow had looked into her reading habits to discover she wanted to learn acrobatics, Gajeel had learned she liked to sing, and Cobra enjoyed the pass-time of telling her people's thoughts on each other and laughing about the drama within the guild.

"Yep, now let's get back to my place, I've already stocked the pantry with Diet Coke and chocolate."

Kathryn allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, closing the book she'd been reading and clutching it to her chest as she waved to guildmates and was led out of the guild. She spent an extra moment to give each of the present mates a soft smile and warm feelings over their bonds before the doors closed behind her.

"So, what are we watching?" She inquired as they made their way to where Sting presumably lived with Rogue. She entertained herself by skipping over the cracks in the pavement, her fingers laced with Sting's.

"I heard from Cobra that you like scary movies, so we're watching one they made on Zancrow's life."

"Spooky," Kathryn waggled her eyebrows at her companion, giggling a bit.

They kept up their lighthearted chatter until Sting stopped in front of an inconspicuous apartment building not far from where Kathryn had been staying with Lucy. He led her up the stairwell and into the topmost apartment, a cozy little place with an open floorplan, fireplace in the living area, and two bedrooms.

"Cute," She remarked, wandering over to the table to set her book down.

"Do you want a shirt and shorts to change into?"

Kathryn smiled back at her mate, her glowing eyes going soft. "It would be more comfy than what I'm currently wearing," She said, gesturing to the jeans and blouse she was currently wearing.

Sting chuckled and wandered back to what was likely his bedroom, leaving Kathryn to kick off her short boots and look around. She walked over to a bookshelf that held numerous photos of him and his partner with their exceeds. The one she zeroed in on first was one of Sting as a young boy, clutching Lector to his chest as he grinned cheekily at the camera.

"I had that taken at a fair in Seven." Kathryn jumped slightly, not having heard the man walk up behind her. "I'd done my first job with Lector and had enough for our inn for the night and a little extra for the photo and food. We spent all day sneaking onto rides and having fun."

Kathryn watched his face as he reminisced his past, a small smile on his lips. She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, a slow smile spreading across her own lips as his eyes darted to hers. Not saying a word, she raised up onto her toes, her hand moving to the back of his head to pull him down a bit.

When their lips met, Kathryn felt the shock of magic between them, making her eyes widen for a moment before sinking into the kiss, her soul seeming to sing. She tilted her head slightly, parting her lips and trailing her tongue along Sting's lower lip. She faintly heard the sound of the clothes he'd been carrying falling to the floor as his hands latched onto her waist, pulling her close and parting his own lips to deepen the kiss.

The only thing she could think of when she tasted Sting was crisp apples. He tasted like apples that had freshly ripened on the tree, being plucked off and bitten into right then and there. It was intoxicating to the woman who adored all fruits and sweets, a taste she could quickly find herself becoming addicted to.

Sting broke the kiss and looked down at her intensely, his blue eyes burning with the passion that had been ignited when their lips had met. "Either tell me to stop, and we'll watch the movie like I'd planned," His voice was gravelly, heavy from his barely restrained need. "Or we can continue this right here, right now."

Kathryn struggled with herself for only a moment before she gripped his hair tight in her fingers. "Shut the fuck up, will you?" She mumbled before pressing her lips back to his. She gave a slight yelp of surprise when she was lifted into the air, instinctively wrapping her legs around Sting's waist as he moved them into the bedroom he'd gone into before.

His hands gripped her ass firmly as his tongue sought to dominate the kiss, twisting with hers and leaving her breathless. He toppled them both onto a large bed, keeping her beneath him as he kissed his way across her cheek and down the side of her neck, drawing a purring moan from Kathryn as he ravished her pulse point.

Sting's hands slid across the skin that had been exposed as her shirt rode up slightly, drawing his calloused palms across soft, milky flesh. Kathryn writhed beneath him as he kissed and nipped his way to her collar bone, his slayer-sharpened fangs drawing forth gooseflesh on the small woman.

Sting lifted his head long enough to pull her blouse up and off, leaving Kathryn with only a soft blue lacy bra covering her top half. He hummed his approval as he continued kissing, licking, and biting along her chest and collar bone, leaving lightly red marks on her skin. His hand came up and gently cupped her breast, his thumb tracing along the edges and drawing another soft purr from Kathryn.

She was lost to his touch, completely and utterly lost in the way the man's hands caressed and seemed to worship both her clothed and unclothed body. When her pants slid down her legs, Kathryn looked up at her mate with heavy-lidded eyes, exposed to him in only hear bra and panties. She boosted up on her elbows and gripped the front of his shirt, pulling him down and connecting their lips once more.

"Someone's impatient," Sting mumbled against her lips, making Kathryn giggle.

"I told you once already, shut the fuck up," She grinned, nipping at his lower lip and moving her hands beneath the black shirt he'd been wearing. "Off," She ordered.

Sting sat back long enough to obey her order, stripping away his shirt and giving the redhead access to his well-toned body. Kathryn dragged her nails along his chest to his abs, tracing the prominent V in his hips. She hummed in approval, moving her head to the side to lick and kiss at Sting's neck the way he'd been doing to her before and leaving small love marks along his skin.

Taking his distraction at an advantage, she used his weight to flip their positions, sprawling herself on top of him as she captured his lips with hers once more. Sucking his bottom lip into her mouth, she bit down lightly before soothing her tongue over it, making the slayer beneath her seem to tremble.

She shifted so she was straddling the man, a leg on either side of him as his hands smoothed up her thighs, giving her ass a light squeeze and trailing along her spine. Kathryn sighed in contentment, nibbling and kissing her way down his chest and abs, trailing her tongue across his skin.

Continuing her way down, she sat up and unbuttoned Sting's pants, drawing the zipper down and giving a light tug to indicate she wanted them off. She rose a brow when she saw that he had gone commando, revealing his relatively large member, standing up from his body proudly, the flared head glistening in the pale light given off by the woman's eyes.

Kathryn licked her lips slightly, leaning down and trailing her lips up Sting's cock, making the man's breath come through his nose sharply. On the second pass, she parted her lips slightly, dragging the inside of her bottom lip along the length and leaving a light trail of moisture behind. Sting's hands fisted in her cloud of red hair when she finally licked the very tip of his cock, eliciting a gruff moan from the slayer as his hips jerked slightly.

No longer wasting time, she opened her mouth and took the entire head into her mouth, flattening her tongue across the opening and giving a rough suck that had Sting groaning. "Fuck," He grunted, his head falling back towards the mattress.

Kathryn hummed in amusement around his hard cock, sending vibrations through the blond's body and causing his hands to tighten in her hair. She began bobbing her head, taking as much of him into her small, wet mouth as she could and nearly gagging each time he hit the back of her throat. She relaxed her throat muscles, allowing her to take the full length in, making Sting let out a long, languid groan at the feeling of his entire cock being buried within the cavern of his mate's mouth.

She sucked hard as she moved her mouth over his cock, slowly easing off until it came out of her mouth with a gentle "pop". Licking her lips, she repeated the process, taking him into her mouth and bobbing a couple times before bottoming out and slowly pulling him out again. By the fourth time, she knew she was driving him crazy, never giving him enough pressure or movement to cause the man to cum, but enough to make the feelings enjoyable.

Before she could do it a fifth time, Kathryn found herself on her back one more, the intense face of her slayer above her as he gripped her hip. "You like teasing me, Little Mate?" His voice sounded almost detached, his eyes glowing yellow with slitted pupils.

"Yes," Kathryn admitted biting her lip as she saw how far over the edge she'd pushed the man.

She shivered as he slowly, excruciatingly, trailed his hand up her ribs and palmed her breast once more. When he brushed a finger over her nipple, she let out a small moan, having always been sensitive in that particular spot. A wicked grin passed over the slayer's face as he watched the expressions on his mate's face morph with his touch.

He trailed his hand to the valley between Kathryn's breasts, hooking a finger beneath the lacy material of the bra. Giving a sharp tug, the material tore away, freeing the small globes to the surrounding air and his hungry eyes to feast upon. Sting licked his lips, tugging the ruined bra off of the small body of his mate and trailing his fingers down her exposed skin.

He stopped his touch just around the pale pink nipple, circling it over and over again and making the woman beneath him arch her back, seeming to seek the touch he was denying her. Sting tutted slightly, shaking his head in denial. "Ah, ah, Little Mate," He teased. "We do this at my pace."

Giving a little whimper, Kathryn stilled herself, watching the man above her with lust-filled eyes, craving his touch more and more as time passed. He took his time, trailing his hands down until he reached the edges of the matching blue lace that covered her core. Seeming to find the fabric offensive to his mission, Sting growled slightly as he ripped it away, leaving Kathryn completely bare beneath him, at his mercy.

He looked down at the naked woman, licking his lips and dipping his head to quickly take a pert nipple into his mouth. Catching Kathryn at a surprise, she arched her back and let out a gasping moan, fisting her hands in his thick blond hair. Sting sucked hard on her nipple, pinching and twisting the other between his fingers and drawing forth several moans from the redheaded woman.

Releasing her nipple from between his fingers, he trailed his hand down and wasted no time in thrusting two fingers deep within her already dripping pussy, turning Kathryn's moans into near screams as pleasure swamped her body. She struggled to focus her mind, lost in the sensations as an inexplicable feeling filled her core, warmth spreading across that area of her body in the most glorious of ways.

She moaned out with each thrust of Sting's fingers within her, her knuckles turning white from the death grip she had on his hair as he continued his assault upon her breast, moving to the other nipple and dragging his sharp teeth over the sensitive bud. Kathryn was unable to stop the climax that quickly built up within her stomach, twisting and coiling tighter and tighter the longer Sting pleasured her body.

With the next thrust of his fingers within her, she arched up, her vision going white as she crashed over the peak, pleasure overruling any other feeling in her body as she came. Her head fell back on the mattress, her legs shaking slightly from the onslaught of his relentless pace, his fingers drawing out her orgasm as wave after wave washed over her.

When it finally subsided, Kathryn opened her eyes and looked up at her slayer, the man towering above her as he positioned his throbbing cock at her entrance and waiting for her to regain some form of consciousness. When she opened her mouth to speak, he thrust into her, making the words die on her lips as she moaned long and deep, his cock bottoming out within her.

"Mavis, you're so fucking tight," Sting groaned, leaning forward on his elbows as he withdrew slightly before slamming back into Kathryn's fully-awakened body.

Kathryn couldn't form words as he thrust into her repeatedly, making her moan out loudly in the throes of passion. She dug her nails into his back, burying her face in his neck as he slowly brought them both to the heights of pleasure, already making that coil within the woman build up once more.

He shifted his hips, gripping her leg and lifting it so he entered her at a new angle, hitting a sweet spot deep within her cum-slickened walls. Kathryn moaned out with each thrust as the head of his cock hit her g-spot and made her see stars with this new feeling for her. She whimpered and moaned, clawing at Sting's back and leaving raised welts as he picked up the pace, urging her ever closer to another peak.

Leaning his head down, Sting trailed his teeth along her collar bone again before thrusting deep within her and sinking his teeth into her skin, making Kathryn scream out as her orgasm crashed into her more intensely than before, causing all of the air to escape her lungs at once as she came. A burst of magic flowed into her veins and edged the woman to continue the rush of her orgasm, the warmth of Sting's magic wrapping her body in a tight cocoon.

As her walls clenched around his swollen, throbbing cock, Sting growled against her skin, releasing his teeth from her flesh as his own orgasm washed through him, emptying his seed deep within his mate. He thrust a couple more times as the last of his sperm burst inside of Kathryn before lowering his head to her shoulder and gasping for breath along with the spent woman.

When she finally regained some form of brain cells, Kathryn shifted, moaning once more when she felt Sting's cock, still buried deep within her pussy, twitch inside of her. She quickly shifted so that he would slide out of her and stretched her back, sighing happily when he collapsed nearly on top of her, his head on one of her breasts.

Kathryn ran her fingers through Sting's hair, scraping her nails on his scalp in soothing motions, smiling when a purring sound emanated from the man. "So," She started softly, smiling down at him when one blue eye peeked open.

"So," Sting echoed, nuzzling his head back into her chest and closing his eyes once more.

Kathryn giggled a bit at the cat-like ways about him and continued running her hands through his hair. "Why did you bite me?" She asked, her eyes beginning to droop a bit.

"It's how we mark our mate," He responded, his voice slightly muffled against her skin. "It'll turn into a symbol that matches my magic in a day or so and then we will officially be mated."

The Dream Walker hummed, thinking back to the dream of his she'd seen when she'd gone through his mind before. "Bickslow's going to be so disappointed," She mused, yawning.

"Too fucking bad," Sting responded. "Now, shh…" He continued the purring sound in his chest, lulling Kathryn into a deep and restful sleep with one of her men sprawled out on top of her, just as satisfied as she was.


	8. Chapter 8

Waking up wrapped in the arms of one of her mates was officially her new favorite thing in the world, Kathryn decided as she stretched slightly under the weight of Sting's arm across her stomach. At some point in the night, they'd shifted around on the bed until he was no longer laying on her lower body with his head between her breasts, but was now snuggled up to her side with his nose brushing the spot he'd bitten on her neck.

His light snores were what had woken Kathryn up, the soft sound being nearly directly in her ear with their positioning. She glanced over and smiled fondly at the slayer, brushing his spiky hair from his brow and leaning down to place her lips gently on the scar above his left eye.

"Stay still," Sting grumbled, pulling her tighter to his body. "Too early. Sleep more."

Giggling softly, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "It's already nearly ten, silly dragon. I have to be at the guild soon for my training with Bickslow and then I'm helping Laxus with paperwork. And a certain someone can brag about being the first to mark me," She tacked on as an afterthought, knowing it would get him up in an instant.

The ploy worked as his blue eyes shot open and a toothy grin spread on the slayer's face, "Yeah! I was the first! Bickslow's gonna hate that." He sat up and drug his sleep and other "activity" tousled mate towards the bathroom, quickly turning on the shower before turning towards her.

When his eyes darkened from a sky blue to a deep sapphire, Kathryn blushed a bit and chewed her bottom lip. "I have thirty minutes until I have to be with Bickslow on the training grounds," She said, taking a small step back.

The Dragon Slayer followed his mate forward, a slow smile spreading across his face, "Guess I'll have to make this quick then."

* * *

Kathryn walked into the guild, her hand securely in the gloved one of her Light Dragon Slayer's. She hadn't had any clothing for the day so was dressed in her jeans from the previous day along with one of Sting's shirts, the long hem tied under her bust to make it fit her smaller body better.

Her glowing eyes tracked around the guild, noting where each of her mate's were at before turning to Sting. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit," She said, rising on her toes to give him a light peck on the cheek to the minor whoops and whistles from those within the guild hall. Before heading up to the bar to grab her protein shake and start her day's greetings of each man with Cobra, she sent Sting a sideways glance. "Be nice to Bixy."

He smirked down at Kathryn, touching a finger to her nose and chuckling when she batted it away. "Not a chance, Little Red. Now, go on and start your day," He gave her ass a little pat as he ushered her away from him and towards the bar, his eyes already seeming to be seeking out the Seith Mage.

Kathryn rolled her eyes and, with a smile on her face, wandered to the bar where Cobra was sitting, his morning salad already in front of him. She attempted to walk silently, toe-to-heel, as she approached, hoping to catch the Poison Dragon Slayer off-guard. Just as she was about to wrap her arms around his waist, he spoke, making Kathryn just a bit in surprise.

"Your thoughts are way too loud for you to surprise me, Little Bit," His deep voice resonated through her bones, sending a shiver down her spine as it usually did the first time she heard it for the day. He sent a smirk over his shoulder and moved a glass to the counter in front of the seat next to him and patted the stool. "Have your shake, woman."

Cheering up a bit from the disappointment at being unable to surprise the Soul Listener, Kathryn climbed up onto the stool, thinking to herself that everything was always made for giants, and sipped lightly on the shake that Mira had made her every day since she'd started training with Bickslow. The taste of grapes made her nose scrunch up a bit but she pushed the distaste down, knowing she would get something else to wash it away when she was done.

"I really don't understand your aversion to grapes," Cobra said, catching her thoughts and sipping on his own grape-flavored drink. "Your eating habits are weird."

"Says the slayer who eats anything he can get his hands on, including drain cleaner," Kathryn said with a straight face.

"Drain cleaner is one of my favorites."

"Point. Made." She staccato'd, sipping down more of her drink. She caught the sound of Sting's loud chuckle across the guild and smiled slightly around her straw, figuring he was bragging about what had happened the night before… and this morning.

"Don't need pictures, thanks," Cobra grumbled, narrowing his amethyst eye down at his blushing mate. "We all felt your emotions during all that, especially an hour ago. Ever seen four grown men literally run to a bathroom before? It was fucking weird."

"Why would you…" Kathryn's brows drew together as she tried to understand the reason that her other mates had needed to run to the bathroom when she'd been with Sting. She thought about the bond between all of them and herself and the fact that they could feel her emotions… Her eyes went wide as it dawned on her, her lips forming a little 'o' of surprise.

"Knew you would figure it out," Cobra chuckled, placing his finger under her chin and closing her mouth. "It'll be worse for those who finish the bond, though."

Kathryn shook off the thoughts of why her men had all needed to run to the bathroom earlier this morning and turned a curious gaze to her maroon haired slayer, "Why's that?"

"The emotions become a lot stronger once the bond is complete. Next time you mate with someone, Sting will probably lose his fucking mind," He smirked, apparently liking the idea of watching the other slayer go a little crazy.

Kathryn attempted to punch him in the arm, only managing to have his hand catch hers mid swing and rub his fingers across her knuckles. She huffed in annoyance and shoved her empty glass aside, not bothering to pull her hand away from Cobra. "I'll have to figure out how to make that stuff easier on you all, I guess," She thought aloud to herself.

Cobra rose a brow at her, his thumb rubbing back and forth across his mate's smooth skin. "How do you suppose you're going to do that? Call us all up before you get freaky with the next contestant?"

She rolled her eyes at his terminology, shaking her head slightly, "No, that wouldn't work. I don't know, I just don't see it being fair that you all have to suffer if something happens between me and any of you."

The slayer surprised her by kissing her knuckles and dropping her hand, "Don't worry about it, Little Bit. We'll manage."

She hummed, turning to look for the next man on her list of daily greetings and smiled when she saw him in his dark corner, already eating his breakfast. She turned back to Cobra and kissed him on the cheek as she stood up, straightening her shirt. "I'll see you in a bit."

Cobra nodded and Kathryn wandered over to what she deemed as her most surly mate, the man's eyes narrowed as he concentrated on his metal scraps. He looked up and those ruby eyes softened a bit as they landed on the redhead, almost mirroring Cobra as he pushed an insulated cup to the spot next to him and rose a brow as the small woman smiled sweetly and filled the spot on the bench.

Kathryn leaned over and kissed his cheek, earning her a grunt in response that made her giggle. She took a sip of the drink offered to her and sighed happily as the bitter-sweet taste of the caramel-mocha filled her senses. "Better than sex," She said on a soft moan.

"I'll be sure to tell that one to the Light Switch."

She giggled and slapped the Iron Slayer's arm playfully, "You will not." She took another sip of her drink before setting it down so she wouldn't suck it down too quickly and run out. "So, have you been going over your homework?"

The raven haired man passed a sheet of paper over to his small mate who looked down at the page and studied it. She nodded, approving of what he'd done and spent the next ten minutes pointing out his errors, helping to correct them without straight out telling the man the answers so that he wouldn't feel too judged.

She'd learned early on that Gajeel wasn't one to enjoy being told he was wrong, he learned better by her simply asking him what he thought could be improved in a piece of sheet music, allowing him to correct himself. She would hum the notes he'd written, allowing him to hear the tune and focus on what he'd done wrong, correct the note, and hum the new line so he could decide if it sounded right. He'd improved greatly over the past few days of lessons.

"Okay," Kathryn smiled at the gruff man, folding up the paper and sticking it in her back pocket. "We'll work on some other stuff in a bit, Stud."

He smirked at the sound of his nickname and gave a nod, "Fine with me, Kitten."

Standing up and grabbing her coffee, Kathryn leaned over and gave the slayer another peck on the cheek before moving upstairs to greet her last two mates. She wound her way through the guild, smiling and waving as those around her wished her good morning before she ascended the stairs to the second-floor lounge.

She rose a brow as Sting smirked from the table he sat at with Rogue and their exceeds, knowing he'd spent time boasting about his conquest to the older two mages. Shaking her head, she approached the table to Raijinshuu occupied, minus Evergreen, and set her cup down on the table.

Bickslow immediately snagged her around the waist and pulled her into his lap, as was his morning tradition, causing the small woman to giggle. "Good morning to you, too, my knightly prince," She laughed as he buried his face in her hair. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over her shoulder at him, "And why are you wearing that fucking thing again?"

Laxus smirked across the table, his arms crossed over his chest, and took his soundpods off his ears, "Yeah, Knightly Prince, tell our mate why you're wearing the visor again."

Bickslow sent his best friend a look that said 'what the fuck, man' and grinned sheepishly at the disapproving woman in his lap. "Ready for your training?"

Kathryn's lips formed a thin line before she pulled the visor off his face and looked up at his babies who were twirling above her head. "Babies," She singsonged, smiling at the little wooden totems. "Can you hide this for me?" They chirped and made a platform for her to set the piece of offending metal on, the largest of the totems floating in front of her face and chirping at her. "Yes," She nodded. "And don't tell him where it is. I don't want to know, either."

The Seith Mage frowned as the soul-filled dolls flew away quickly, his wine colored gaze locking with the glowing eyes of his mate. "That's just mean," He pouted.

"Too bad," Kathryn deadpanned, her tone laced with disapproval. "I know you think your eyes and tattoo make people uncomfortable, I know how you feel, sweetie." She brushed her fingers over his face gently as she spoke, making the man's eyes close at the soothing motions. "How would you feel if I wore something to cover my eyes?"

"Your eyes are beautiful," Freed commented across the table, earning a smile from the small woman.

"Thank you, Freed," She responded, turning her gaze back to the man in who's lap she was perched. "You wouldn't like me wearing my blindfold, would you?" When he shook his head, Kathryn kissed him on the nose, "So how do you think I feel when I see you wearing that thing?"

Bickslow sighed before opening his eyes, "Alright, no more visor, I get it." When his mate only hummed, he tilted his head and let his tongue hang out of his mouth, "So, tell me why Sting got ya first, Fluffy."

Kathryn rolled her eyes at the nickname from her Soul Stealing mate. It was the only one she really didn't care for, but she accepted that they each had something they liked to call her, just as she had a nickname for each of them. "You don't need to know details, you perv. Let's start our training."

The two-tone haired man cocked his head to the side, telling Kathryn she was far from being let off the hook on the subject. "Yeah, yeah, Fluffy. Let's get going."

He allowed Kathryn to hop to her feet, the woman skirting the table to lean over and give her Lightning Dragon Slayer a kiss on the cheek and going over to where Sting was to do the same. She bounded off down the stairs towards the locker room so she could change and get started on her morning training in acrobatics, something she looked forward to each day, a bright smile on her face from spending a little time with each man.


	9. Chapter 9

"Bend your knees a bit on the dismount," Bickslow ordered from his place on the ground as he looked up at Kathryn. "Remember to land directly on the balls of your feet or you'll sprain something."

Biting her lip, the small woman focused on the lessons she'd had with the Seith Mage, trying to remember how he'd taught her to dismount the beam that was extremely high off the ground. Taking a couple steadying breaths, Kathryn stepped forward and sprung up, doing a couple twists and flips before landing on the balls of her feet on the ground.

Her eyes lit up and she turned a brilliant smile on the man who was standing off to the side. "I did it!" She cheered, rushing over to the grinning man and launching herself at him. Bickslow caught the wild woman, stumbling backwards and falling flat on his back with her sprawled across his bare chest with a surprised 'oof'.

Kathryn brushed her cloud of red hair out of her face and giggled, "Sorry!" She sat up, straddling the man beneath her with that brilliant smile on her face. "Did you see? I did it! On my first try!"

Finding the mood of his mate infectious, Bickslow chuckled as he felt her joy through their thin bond. "I saw, Fluffy. Not too bad," He rose a brow, a smirk beginning to play at his lips. "Not that I mind the position we're in, but you should move before you start something you might not want to finish today."

Pursing her lips, Kathryn looked down at where she was currently sitting. Tilting her head to the side, she studied the muscled upper body of the Seith Mage, trailing her eyes up to meet his red ones. She hummed before a slightly devilish smile spread slowly across her face.

Leaning forward, she kissed him gently, nipping at his lower lip. "I don't mind of you don't," She said in a sultry tone, glowing eyes flashing with heat.

In an instant, she was on her back, Bickslow's lips roughly on her own as he kissed her. His hands moved quickly, grasping her sports bra covered breast while he drug her yoga shorts down and off of her legs. Because she hadn't had any extra panties from her stay with Sting the previous night, she'd had to forego them, meaning without her shorts, she was now bare aside from her bra.

Taking no time at all, Bickslow's hand was between her legs, igniting a fire within Kathryn's body as he dipped a finger into her already dripping heat. Kathryn moaned out against his lips, her body assaulted by the feelings as adrenaline still rushed in her veins from her success on her dismount of the beam. She arched against him, thrusting her hips forward to feel more of what the man had to offer.

Eager to please the already quaking woman, the Seith Mage thrust his finger in and out of her velvety soft pussy, taking pleasure in her moans. On the withdraw, he inserted a second finger, slowly stretching her as the woman beneath him tangled her fingers in his hair.

"Fuck," She groaned against his lips as his thumb began circling her clit, bringing stars to her eyes.

Bickslow didn't relent, continuing his assault on her body and drawing every sigh and gasp from within her, relishing in the sound of her moans. When her body finally let go of his fingers, he withdrew them from her, bringing another shiver from his mate's body.

"I swear to fucking god, Bickslow," She whimpered out, biting his shoulder. "If you don't fuck me right now, I'm going to go find one of the others who will."

"Don't gotta tell me twice," He said with a smirk, quickly shimmying his gym shorts and boxers down and springing his impressive erection free of it's prison.

With no other preamble, he thrust deep inside of Kathryn's sensitive, shivering body, bringing low moans from both of them. Bickslow gave her a moment to adjust as he was slightly larger than Sting had been and he refused to hurt the beautiful woman beneath him if he could help it.

When she began to move her hips, he took that as a sign for him to begin and begin he did as he nearly violently thrust into her, causing her to cry out against his skin, her teeth still latched onto his shoulder. Kathryn's nails dug into his back, leaving raised welts as he ravished her body, the slight sting of pain only adding to his frenzied attack on her.

Wrapping her legs around his hips, Kathryn began to thrust back at Bickslow, the motions causing his cock to push ever deeper within her and drawing deep, guttural sounds from the man. She felt herself coiling ever closer to her release, her muscles tensing with each and every thrust of the hips, the sound of their coupling being the only sound in the gymnasium.

Bickslow nuzzled her neck before kissing and sucking the space where her shoulder and neck met, "Cum for me, baby. I want to feel you cum around my cock."

His words were accentuated by his pace increasing, bringing Kathryn ever closer to the edge. She released her jaw from his shoulder as she cried out, her body following his command and clamping down in him. He didn't slow down, keeping up the relentless pace as he sought his own release, thrusting ever faster within her.

Kathryn's eyes snapped open, locking onto Bickslow's as magic built around them. Both mage's eyes glowing brightly in the passion of their mating. She felt the same strange feeling she had when he'd looked into her soul, that winding and twisting pulse of his magic flowing into her body and seeming to coax her to leave it.

She gasped as he came, his seed bursting inside of her at the same time that twisting magic seemed to coil in her body just above her heart. A bright green flash filled the room, followed by an equally as bright yellow flash, before the light faded and both mage's eyes seemed to dim.

Bickslow nearly collapsed on top of her, bracing himself on his elbows as they both gasped for air and shook from their release. He rose his head after a moment, trailing gentle kisses along her neck and chest before landing above her racing heart.

"Doesn't look how I expected it to," He commented, bringing Kathryn slowly out of her daze.

"What do you mean?" She questioned, running her fingers through his blue mohawk.

"I was nearly expecting it to be like a soul or something, but it's a green version of my own tattoo," Bickslow responded, kissing the spot again.

Kathryn giggled, sighing as her heart began to slow, humming in her chest. "God, I have to go through this three more times still," She muttered almost to herself.

"The others will be more like Sting's. Mine is the only one that should be the way this one was," He said, withdrawing from her and bringing a small moan from the woman.

Kathryn hummed and sat up, looking down at her chest to see that he'd been right, it looked like a toxic green version of the mark on his face, just over her heart and seemed to pulse with some unseen energy. She pursed her lips, "It's centered on my tattoo."

Bickslow smirked, pulling his shorts up and moving her legs around so he could help her get her own back on. "Would it have bothered you if it wasn't?"

"Yes," She responded instantly, standing so she could wiggle the shorts up her hips and keep the mess from dripping down her thighs. "I would have had to find a way to remove the tattoo if it wasn't centered."

He shook his head, throwing his arm over her shoulders and walking towards the door to the gym. "Glad to know my mate's a little bit of a perfectionist."

Kathryn snorted, winding her arm around his waist, "And you're not?"

"I prefer controlled chaos," He remarked, walking her over to the female locker room.

She hummed and turned to the man, "Whatever you say, Knightly Prince." She tapped her lips, making him chuckle as he dipped his head to give her a quick kiss. "I've gotta shower and go help Laxus with some paperwork."

"Have fun with that," Bickslow smirked, swatting her ass as she walked away and earning a half-hearted glare from the redhead.


	10. Chapter 10

Kathryn made her way out of the shower, attempting to dry her cloud of red hair with a towel and gasped when she saw her reflection. The mark on her neck had finally shown up, a beautiful sun in glowing white and yellow upon her pale skin. It suited a mark from Sting, she thought, tracing it lovingly and dragging her finger down to touch the one she'd received not even thirty minutes before.

Smiling to herself, she began to hum, putting her jeans and Sting's shirt back on before slipping on her boots and walking out of the shower room. She was braiding her hair as she walked into Laxus' office, hoping to tame her wild mane of hair before it fully dried and pull it out of her face.

She yelped when she was roughly shoved back against the door, eyes going wide when she saw the dark look on her Lightning Dragon Slayer's face. "Thunder?" She asked softly a moment before his lips crashed down on hers.

Kathryn was defenseless, helpless to fight the man as he shoved her against the door, assaulting her mouth with his own. He didn't hesitate to push his tongue into her mouth when she gasped in surprise, quickly dominating the kiss he'd started.

A low growling noise filled the office, sending a pool of moisture straight to her core. Laxus quickly ripped Kathryn's shirt over her head, tossing it to the side as her nipples hardened in the cool air. He growled a bit louder and lowered his head, latching onto a stiffened peak, his lips, tongue, and teeth bringing gentle moans from her mouth.

Wasting no time, he pulled back and looked down on the frazzled woman with lust clouding his stormy eyes. "Boots off, now."

She shivered at the commanding tone, the sound only bringing hot need to her. Struggling to follow his order, she toed off her boots and allowed him to kick them to the side before he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, roughly yanking them off of her body and leaving her bare for his eyes to see.

Laxus undid his own pants, dropping them to his ankles along with his black silk boxers. Kathryn's eyes went wide at the sheer size of his cock, the member so large it seemed it would split her in two. She had no time to comment as she was lifted into the air and shoved back against the door, her mouth being assaulted once more by her slayer's.

She could hardly react, crying out when he thrust deep inside of her soaking pussy in one fell swoop. It nearly hurt with how full she felt, her small body struggling to accommodate the large cock within her. Laxus stilled for a moment, giving her just enough time to relax from the strain within her aching core, his lips and tongue never breaking the kiss as he allowed her to get used to the feeling of him inside of her.

No sooner did the pain dull than Laxus began roughly pounding into her, each thrust slamming her back against the door she was supported on. Kathryn moaned loudly, her mind clouded from the sensations filling her. She could do nothing but feel as he used her body for his own pleasure, pushing into her hard and fast.

Kathryn's eyes went wide as a foreign feeling began to prick at her skin, igniting a new fire in the pit of her stomach. One of Laxus' hands cupped her breast, his fingers pinching and twisting her nipple before a shock went straight to the sensitive bud, causing the woman to cry out.

"That's right," Laxus growled. "Cry out for me."

His hand lowered between them, his thumb circling her already sensitive clit and sending shock after shock to her body. Kathryn's moans were bordering on screams as her helpless body was enveloped by electricity, bringing her to new heights of pleasure as it danced along her skin.

Laxus continued to pound into her relentlessly, slamming her down onto his huge cock and grunting with the effort. His hands moved to grip Kathryn's hips so hard she was sure she would have bruises, something she imagined she would be somewhat proud of, in the end.

"L-La.. I…" She struggled to form words as that electrified feeling began deep within her pussy, sending shock after shock to her quivering walls.

No sooner did the shocks start than did the dam inside of her burst, causing Kathryn to throw her head back against the door as she screamed out his name. The slayer seemed urged on as his pace picked up, shifting his hips as he continued slamming into his small mate's body. He grabbed her arm, sinking his teeth into her wrist as he roared his own release, filling the room with a burst of electricity.

Kathryn felt the tingle of electricity filling her veins, rushing through her body as the warmth had with Sting, except this felt more wild and untamed than the light had. She shook all over, the magic only seeming to prolong her orgasm and dragging the woman into wave after wave of pleasure.

Laxus stayed still, watching the shaking woman in his arms with smug satisfaction, knowing that his lightning was bringing her pleasure as she'd never seen it before. When the tremors finally stopped, he kissed her gently, helping her come back down from her pleasure high and back into the world of the living.

Her eyes opened slowly, as if the light hurt them, and she groaned softly, "You men are going to break me, I swear."

Laxus chuckled at the dramatics of his mate and nuzzled her neck, "You seemed sturdy enough to me a minute ago. I haven't been able to use my full strength on someone, ever."

Kathryn smirked at the remark, "Obviously because you hadn't met me yet."

He chuckled again while awkwardly walking backwards with his pants at his ankles until he could sit down on the sofa across the room, Kathryn's legs still locked around his waist. Laxus looked her over for any signs of damage and hummed in his chest, seemingly satisfied that he hadn't really hurt her.

She smiled slightly, her head on his shoulder, as he began that rumbling purr that Sting had done the night before. It was so relaxing and just what she needed to help calm her frantic heartbeat after the frantic nature of their coupling. She was fast becoming a fan of the way her dragon slayers purred and growled, she found the sounds incredibly sexy and something she would never grow tired of.

"Still alive?" Laxus asked her, pulling Kathryn out of her light trance. She hummed the affirmative, snuggling into the man's chest and making him chuckle again. "I blame Bickslow for this. I was originally going to wait and show you my gentler side first."

Kathryn giggled softly, kissing his shoulder. "I preferred the wild side. I don't want you to hold back."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"You all really are going to break me," Kathryn commented on a small yawn. "Not even two in the afternoon and already, I'm practically in a coma." She opened her eyes fully, looking up at the small smile on her mate's face. "Ya cheeky fuckers are just too much."

"Says the little sex kitten."

She poked him in the cheek, a scowl on her face as he cracked open an eye. "I can't help I have five extremely hot men all to myself and I've been sexually deprived for…" She trailed off, thinking to herself and began ticking time off on her fingers. "Three years."

"Three years?" Laxus' eyes opened and he looked at her in amazement. "You seriously hadn't had sex in that long?"

Kathryn shook her head. "Nope," She said, popping the 'p'. "My ex was a dick so I denied him. Used my hand or a toy for the last six months of my marriage and then for the year after my divorce. When I was held prisoner, I had no desire for anything sexual, especially because they were watching me the entire time I was there." She shivered a bit at the memory, trying to push away the thoughts of those six months.

She began tracing the scar on his face, something she'd been wanting to do for a while. It was jagged, as if lightning itself had done it. The skin was slightly puckered and she felt every ridge on the scar, every small divot. "Do you remember getting it?" She asked softly, a frown creasing her brow.

"The lacrama?" Laxus asked, opening his eyes once more. When Kathryn nodded, he sighed, "Not really. I was young when Ivan put it in me. It's more like a hazy dream than anything." He traced the scar on her sternum in a mirror of what she was doing to his own scar.

"I remember every second," She whispered, as if someone else would hear her words. "They had given me something to prevent me from being able to pass out. Falen cut me open with a scalpel, I felt how cold the metal was on my skin. When he put the lacrama in, it was like white, hot fire." She sighed heavily, her head falling forward onto her mate's chest. "I was so confused as to why anyone would put a marble into my body. I didn't know I wasn't on Earth anymore and that's what scared me the most. I remember screaming myself hoarse from the pain, hoping I would either pass out or just die. It was too much."

Laxus lifted her face, brushing the tears away as they fell from her eyes and kissed her gently. "You're safe now, babe. Don't think about it. None of us are going to let anything happen to you."

Kathryn's tears fell more truly at his words, she had never felt more loved or cared about than in this moment, the quiet intensity in Laxus' eyes was breaking her heart while repairing it at the same time. "I know," Her voice came out in a squeak. "I-I just…"

"Shh…" He soothed, kissing her again. "Just relax, babe."

She nodded, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to push the memories back down into that little locked box she kept all of her bad memories. Her tears slowed until the last ones dried on her lashes, a small sniffle being the last part of her minor breakdown.

"We should probably clean up and actually try to get some of that work done," Laxus grumbled, sounding like that was the last thing he wanted to do. "Don't need someone walking in and seeing my mate naked and me with my pants around my ankles."

Kathryn giggled a bit, lifting her head and attempting to stand. Her brows drew together as she willed her muscles to move. "Small problem." When Laxus rose a brow at her, she smiled sheepishly. "My legs aren't working."

He chuckled as he shifted to lay her out on the couch before pulling his pants and boxers up. The slayer went around the room, grabbing the redhead's scattered clothing and moving back to where she lay sprawled out on the couch. He crouched down and began kneading the muscles in her legs, noting how tense they were from his lightning.

"Remind me not to use my lightning when we aren't in a bed and you don't have anywhere to be in a while," He commented with a smirk.

"I told you that you broke me," Kathryn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as the blond continued to try and loosen the tension in her legs.

"So dramatic."

"Hey, fuck you."

"Already did that. I broke you, remember?"

The Dream Walker rolled her eyes at her mate, waiting for her to regain feeling in her legs so she could move. When she could finally move, she stretched her little body on the couch and shouted her victory, happiness plastered to her face.

Laxus chuckled as he shook his head, walking back over to his desk and sitting down. "Get some clothes on, woman," He ordered. "We've got work to do."

Kathryn hopped up, wiggling her ass into her pants and sliding her shirt back on. "Aye, aye, Captain Thunder!" She giggled, giving him a mock salute.


	11. Chapter 11

"Today's the day, the sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are getting out of-" Kathryn paused dramatically, gasping in mock shock as she looked around the room she was currently standing in. "The tank is clean. The tank is clean!" She shouted, falling to her knees as she gripped her hair.

"Our mate is a fucking weirdo," Sting commented, earning him a couple of words of agreement from the other four men.

"Babe, can you get off the floor and actually look at the house?" Laxus, ever the level-headed one, attempted to get his mate's attention.

Kathryn looked up at him from her knees, and rose a brow. "Why would I do that?" She put a finger to her chin and tilted her head. "It's ugly, I don't like it."

"You haven't even looked at it," Gajeel said, rolling his eyes.

Glowing eyes locked onto the front of the man in question's pants and she visibly licked her lips before looking up at him and winking. "Ready when you are, Stud."

"Seriously," Cobra said, capturing the woman's attention. "Just look at the house. This is the fifth one today."

"And this is the fifth ugly house that Thunder over there has tried to convince me is the one." She allowed Sting to help her to her feet and tilted her head once more, "Now, why would I want to live in an ugly house?"

"Does it really matter what it looks like?"

Her eyes narrowed on Bickslow, irritation filling the woman's body in an instant. She ignored the comment from Sting of, "You did it now, man," and walked over to the Seith Mage quickly.

"Sweetie?" She asked, looking up at him with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face that had her other four mates taking a cautious step back.

"Uh… Yeah?" He questioned, looking around at the others before he yelped in pain as his ear was grabbed and he was forcibly pulled down to the very short woman's height.

"Why the _fuck_ ," She emphasized the word, her voice dripping with cheeriness. "Would I want to look at an ugly ass, motherfucking house for the rest of my life? Do I not deserve something, oh, I don't know, pretty? Am I not good enough, prized enough, to have the house of my dreams?"

He winced as her questions were accentuated with a tug to his ear, the other men all staying silent in fear of garnering their mate's wrath. "Okay, I get it," The unfortunate man whimpered. "We'll find you a pretty house."

All at once, her mood flipped, the woman releasing his ear and kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks, baby!" She skipped over to the door, "Now, let's see the next one."

Kathryn ignored the moans and groans from her mates as she ushered them out of the house and smiled as she wandered behind them, quietly appreciating their asses. She really did have the best luck, honestly. They all were in excellent shape, being mages and all, and all had such attractive faces. Not to mention, if one of them wouldn't give her something, she only had to ask another and she would eventually find one who would placate whatever her little heart desired.

"Woman," Gajeel growled, looking back. "Pick up the pace, we don't have all day."

When she blatantly ignored his order, deciding to tempt fate, the slayer walked back towards her and did the unspeakable. He quickly grasped her hips and threw her over his shoulder, earning a startled yelp from the small woman.

"Gajeel! Put me down!" Kathryn shrieked, tugging on his hair, her cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

"Stop pulling my hair, woman," He snapped, giving her a jostle as each of the other men unabashedly gave her ass a nice long look as she was held on the slayer's shoulder.

"Then put me down, you fucking chia pet reject!"

"Maybe you should learn to walk faster," Gajeel remarked, smirking as he gazed lecherously at her ass next to his face.

"I'm not going to fucking run to keep up with you giant fucking assholes and your ungodly long fucking horse legs, you cum guzzling, dick mongering, motherf-" Her words were cut off as Cobra put his hand over her mouth, muffling the ranting of the feisty woman.

"Fucking thank you," Laxus said, rubbing his temples.

"Am I the only one concerned that it looks like we're kidnapping her?" Bickslow questioned with a snicker.

"I was just thinking that," Sting responded.

"Are you done?" Cobra asked Kathryn, leaning close to her face. He sighed when her eyes narrowed, "Mavis, this woman has a mouth on her."

"That bad?"

He looked over at Bickslow with a narrowed eye, "You should hear what she's thinking right now. Our mate is creative with her words."

When Gajeel smacked her ass, hard, Kathryn screeched through Cobra's hand and a whole new wave of insults began flowing from her mouth as he chuckled. "What's that?" The slayer asked, cocking his head to the side with a smirk. "I can't quite hear you."

She retaliated by simultaneously giving his hair a solid yank and biting Cobra's hand, causing both slayers to give surprised yells and glare at the cheekily grinning woman. The muffled sound of what sounded like "I'm done now" was discernable through Cobra's hand and the maroon haired man cautiously removed his appendage from his mate's mouth. Both Bickslow and Sting were laughing at the looks that Cobra and Gajeel were both giving their mate, the two holding their stomachs from laughing so hard.

Kathryn smiled sheepishly at Cobra and fluttered her lashes. "Oh, you're definitely going to get it for that, Little Bit. Just wait and see," He warned with a slightly menacing grin.

She pursed her lips and tiled her head, no doubt talking to the soul listener within her mind. She smirked at something, making the other's slightly curious what was going on between the two. When Cobra stopped walking, Kathryn burst into a fit of giggles, turning to Gajeel.

"Can you carry me any other way than over your shoulder?" She asked politely. "My belly is starting to hurt from this."

"You gonna pull my hair again?"

"Not unless you ask me to," She batted her lashes at the man with a sly smile on her face, causing him to chuckle.

Gajeel shifted her around so she could perch upon his back, the woman's legs wrapping around his waist and arms around his neck. "Better?" He asked over his shoulder, raising a pierced brow.

"Much," Kathryn responded, kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks, Stud."

"Hn." He grunted, the small smirk on his face showing he was pleased with the kiss he'd received.

"What are we even looking for in a house?" Sting asked seriously, tugging on his piercing.

Kathryn put her finger to her chin as she thought about his question. "I want something a little outside of town, I don't want to be able to hear all the bustling of the city," She said, ticking things off on her fingers. "We need at least eight bedrooms, seven if we put the exceeds in one room together." Pursing her lips, she continued to think. "I'd like a pool and a large kitchen, something with enough room so that any of your teams can come for dinner. A big enough yard so we can either have an outdoor gym or build an additional building for one. Hmm…" She snapped her fingers, "And a basement."

"Basement?" Sting questioned, looking confused.

"You don't want to know," Cobra said with an eye roll.

"So, our mate wants a dungeon, eh?" Gajeel asked, looking over his shoulder at the small woman.

"I mean, I would rather it not be set up in my room or somewhere a visitor will see it," She responded, shrugging while Sting's eyes went wide with realization.

Bickslow's guild mark was proudly on display as he grinned over at Kathryn, "Is there anything you aren't into, Fluffy?"

She shrugged once more, "Not that I've really found. I like to try everything at least once. So, if any of you have anything specific you like, just let me know and we'll figure something out." This comment brought a couple chuckles from the group and Bickslow had to pat Sting on the back when he sputtered, the poor slayer seeming to be surprised by the bluntness of their mate.

They walked for what seemed like forever to the redhead, her eyes drooping a bit as she rested her head on Gajeel's shoulder and nuzzling into his fur collar. She yawned slightly as her arms began to feel lax and loosen their grip on the man, beginning to slump backwards. Before she fell off completely, Laxus stepped up and caught her, cradling her to his chest bridal-style.

"Thanks, Thunder," She mumbled softly, yawning again. "Are we almost there?"

The blond smiled gently down at the sleepy woman in his arms, "Just about. I think this is the one for us."

Kathryn hummed, breathing in the rainstorm smell of her Lightning Dragon Slayer and letting it relax her more. She drifted to sleep, letting her mind go blank as she let her men keep her safe. She felt completely protected, being surrounded by all of them, and knew nothing bad would happen to her.

"We're here, Carrot Cake," Laxus announced, gently shaking his mate awake.

She opened her glowing eyes a bit and shrieked, causing the four slayers of the group to wince from the sheer volume of it. Jumping to her feet, she raced around the yard, looking at everything. The outside was perfect to her, absolutely perfect.

She excitedly turned to look at the men before running inside and looking at the entire place, disappearing from sight quickly and leaving the five men out on the lawn. They looked at each other with questioning glances on most of their faces before setting off to look for the hyperactive woman.

They found her on the third floor, in what looked to be a tower room that branched off the rest of the house. She was staring out the window at the large yard and pond that stretched behind the giant house. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes shining with glee.

"What do you think?"

Kathryn turned her beaming smile to Laxus and the rest of her mates, taking in the brilliance of the room at the same time. "It's perfect," She whispered with barely restrained joy. Her hair was glowing from the sun that was setting behind her, giving her a flaming halo and making each of her mates smile at the happiness they felt and saw on the beautiful woman.

Tears gleaming in her yellow eyes, she turned back to the window. This was absolutely the house for them, this was the place she would start her life anew.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N;** _These next two chapters are literally pure smut. They're one scene that I wanted to just break apart as this chapter got really long for my usual chapters. I'm very much into BDSM and would like to stress that consent and trust are the largest rules that are necessary for this way of life! Do not do anything that your partner is uncomfortable with!  
_

* * *

 ** _Enjoy, my delicate marionettes!_**

 ** _~ MrsPuppetEx_**

* * *

She felt awful, completely and utterly awful. With not two, but three of her mates gone for a few days on jobs, Kathryn was slumped at the bar in her new kitchen, a pile of lollipop sticks and wrappers next to her head. It just had to be the three she had already completed the bond with, making the woman feel even more awful from the distance between them.

Kathryn groaned again, tossing another stick into her ever-increasing pile and reaching for another lollipop without looking up. When her hand came up empty, she raised her head and groaned when she saw there was none left. "Why is the candy always gone?" She whimpered to herself, smacking her head back down on the counter.

"You're going to give yourself a headache if you keep that up," Cobra remarked as he entered the kitchen and raised a brow at his mate who kept smacking her head on the counter out of frustration.

"I don't care," Kathryn pouted, giving another thwack to her head on the quartz countertop.

"They're not gone forever," Cobra soothed, getting his specified glass from the cupboard and pouring some bleach into it. "Sting should be back in a day or two and Laxus said he and Bickslow would be finishing their job within the week."

"Its too long!" The overly dramatic woman whined.

Cobra shook his head and grabbed another bag of candy off a shelf that they kept around for the woman with an insane sweet tooth. He sat next to her and shook the bag, grinning when she sat up and her eyes locked onto the bag of chocolate balls.

"Gimme," She demanded, reaching for the bag and pouting when he pulled it just out of reach.

"Let's play a game, Little Bit," He smirked, making Kathryn question his motives.

"What kind of game?" She eyed him suspiciously and glanced over as Gajeel entered the room as well.

"Gajeel and I will give you a specific task to do," Cobra took a long drink of his bleach, smirking over at his fellow slayer who seemed to catch on to what he was getting at.

"For everythin' you do, you'll get a piece of chocolate, or another reward," Gajeel grinned at the redheaded woman.

"What kind of reward?" Kathryn pursed her lips, not really following what they were saying.

"You'll have to wait and see," Cobra responded, setting his glass down on the counter. "Do you want to play?"

Still finding their behavior odd, Kathryn tilted her head to the side as she debated with herself. They wouldn't do anything that would really hurt her, but the tasks could be anything. These were the only two she hadn't finished the bond with, hadn't even had sex with them at this point as there really hadn't been an opportunity seeing as they'd literally bought and moved into the house only the previous day.

Could this game be sexual in nature? Sure, it very well could be. Especially because she knew all of her men were perverts and weren't all too shy about that fact. But, with that in mind, was she willing to play along? The need she felt in her body told her the answer; a strong, resounding "yes".

"Okay, I'll play."

"First task, strip."

Kathryn rose a brow at Cobra, she knew it was going to be played this way. The man had likely heard her train of thought and she must have been right on the money with the two men who seemed to be very much into the dominant side of BDSM.

Shrugging, she stood up and stripped off the loose tank top and jean shorts she'd been wearing, cocking her head to the man. When he only stared at her with his single amethyst eye, she rolled her own and reached behind her back to unlatch the clasp on her dusky black lace bra and let it fall to the floor. She shimmied out of her matching panties and looked back at Cobra who was looking her up and down.

"Well?" She prompted, wanting her treat.

He opened the bag and pulled out a single chocolate. Passing it to her, he grinned when she popped the whole thing in her mouth and closed her eyes on a sigh. "Gajeel?"

"There's a collar and matching wrist cuffs and ankle cuffs in the drawer next to my bed. Go grab them and put them on."

Kathryn once again pursed her lips, wondering how submissive she was going to be for the two slayers. "I don't like collars," She said.

"Every time you deny a task, one of us can punish you. So," Cobra grinned, standing up. "Choose either to do the task or pick one of us to punish you."

She chewed her lip, looking at both men before her. She debated in her mind whether or not it was worth it to take the punishment, but wanted to see what the next task would be. Having decided, she dashed from the room and up the stairs, entering Gajeel's bedroom quickly.

Opening the bedside table, she spotted the items for her task immediately. A black leather collar and matching cuffs for her wrists and ankles, all seeming to be the perfect size for her. She slid the cuffs on first, fiddling with the clasps before a strange clicking sound had her brows drawing together.

Shaking off the concern she felt, Kathryn quickly slipped the collar around her neck, the same clicking sound making her become more suspicious. Chewing her lip, she reached up and attempted to pull the collar back off, only for it to stay almost molded to her skin. She gave each cuff a solid yank and, of course, not one budged. They must have been enchanted so she couldn't take them off herself, she decided.

Walking back down into the kitchen, she showed both wrists and ankles then tilted her chin up to show she was wearing all five items. Gajeel seemed fairly pleased with them and checked the locks, making Kathryn note that they moved when he touched them.

She accepted the chocolate from Cobra once more, feeling almost like a pet who was being rewarded for good behavior at this point. At Cobra's snicker, she rose a brow at the maroon haired man.

"You really haven't figured this out yet?" He asked her with a menacing smile.

Realization dawned on the woman as she saw an equally as menacing smile on Gajeel's face. Her jaw dropped, "You both had this planned."

Cobra shrugged out of his coat and set it on the stool he'd been sitting in before, "We're both Doms. I knew from listening to his soul that Gajeel was just as fucked up as I am. He told me about your dream you showed him which made me think about how we would get back at you for the other day."

"The other-" Kathryn broke into a fit of giggles, covering her mouth with her hand when she remembered biting Cobra's hand and pulling Gajeel's hair. "You both deserved it!"

Gajeel grunted, "Oh, Kitten, you already told us that if we had particular tastes to let you know and you would play along. Are ya lyin' to us now?"

She pursed her lips, looking between the two once more. "Well… no. I'm just realizing I'm being trained like a dog right now," She said, a hand on her hip and completely comfortable with her nudity.

"What better way to train our new submissive than to give rewards when she behaves?" Cobra asked, stepping forward and sticking his finger through the silver loop on her collar. He tugged her up onto her toes, bringing her close to eye level with his tall frame.

"Maybe I don't like this," Kathryn deadpanned, narrowing her eyes at the slayer.

"Even if I couldn't hear the lies ringing through your soul," He responded, kissing her on the cheek and keeping his mouth near her ear. "We can both smell the arousal coming off of you." Her eyes went wide when she realized she'd forgotten that little tidbit of information. "Now," He said, lowering her to her feet once more. "Let's head down to the basement. We have a surprise for you, Little Pet."

Cobra kept his finger through the loop of the collar, making sure that Kathryn couldn't get away as he led her towards the stairs that led to the basement. Gajeel followed closely behind, grinning toothily at the small woman as she was basically dragged through the house by her neck.

When they entered the basement, Kathryn's eyes went wide. A large bed sat in the middle of the room, red satin sheets covering it and restraints at each corner. On one wall hung various items from whips and riding crops to paddles and vibrators. The carpet beneath her bare feet was plush and it would be unlikely to hurt if she fell as it was soft as could be.

Cobra pulled her over to the wall of toys and grabbed a chain leash and a shorter spread chain. He looked over at Gajeel who gave a short nod and clipped the leash to the loop he'd been guiding Kathryn through the house with. Grabbing her wrists, he attached the shorter length to each cuff, making her hands unable to be spread apart more than about six inches. He repeated the process with her ankles before standing back up and using the leash to walk her back to the center of the room.

"For the remainder of our game, you will simply respond with 'yes' or 'no'," Cobra instructed. "You will refer to us as either 'master' or 'sir', do you understand?"

"Yes," Kathryn responded, her heart beat speeding up slightly with excitement. A sharp tug on the leash had her looking up at Cobra who was frowning at her. "Y-yes, sir?"

"Good. For your next task, I want you to undress us both. When you are finished, you will kneel in front of us with your hands on your thighs, palms up."

"Yes, sir," She replied, licking her lips a bit.

She set about her task, starting with Cobra. She pulled his shirt up and over his head, having to stand on her toes to do so. She hissed a breath in when he flicked one of her nipples but forced herself to focus on her task. Kneeling down, she pulled off both of his boots and set them aside before undoing his pants and pulling them down.

Kathryn's mouth went dry when she saw his cock spring free from his boxers as she pulled them down as well. He wasn't a little above average like Sting or long like Bickslow, but somewhere in between. It twitched slightly, showing he'd been listening to her thoughts and his hand was running through her hair almost lovingly as she assessed him.

Blinking, Kathryn stood and repeated the process, undressing her other slayer and found her eyes going wide and mouth gaping slightly. His cock was about the same size as Cobra's but that's not what had her shocked. It had several metal bars running along the underside of it and a loop through the tip, making Kathryn want to lick along it to feel each bar on her tongue.

At the sound of Cobra chuckling, she looked over at him curiously. "There will be plenty of time for that later, pet."

Nodding, she smiled sweetly up at Gajeel before going to stand back up, only for him to force her back down. She looked up at him with confusion in her glowing eyes. "Crawl," He ordered, his voice husky from lust.

She took up her place in front of the two men, her hands on her thighs as she knelt on the carpet, palms facing up. Looking up, she watched them for her reward and next task. Her body was already singing for them and neither one had really touched her yet aside from when Cobra had flicked her nipple before.

The maroon haired slayer looked over at Gajeel and seemed to say something too quiet for Kathryn to hear as the pierced man grinned down at her. "Your reward," He started. "Is you get to suck my cock. Do you accept this as a reward?"

Her eyes went wide as she looked from one man to the other, astounded that this would be considered a reward. Subconsciously, she licked her lips, eying the large member on her Iron Dragon Slayer and picturing what those piercings would feel like inside of her.

A sharp tug on the leash had her looking up at Cobra who smirked at her. "Do you accept?"

"Y-yes, master," Kathryn managed, her voice just above a whisper.

"Get to it then."

She looked back at Gajeel's cock and crawled her way over to him on all-fours, knowing she shouldn't stand if she wanted to please them. When she got in front of him once more, she looked up to see the slayer grinning and couldn't help but smile a little back.

She reached up with her hands but he smacked them away. "No hands."

Nodding, Kathryn leaned forward and licked the tip of his semi-hard cock, earning a small groan from the man. Taking this as a good sign, she managed to get the tip into her mouth and swirled her tongue around, enjoying the salty but slightly sweet taste of him. The iron that ruled his diet gave his cock a minor taste of the metal as well as the piercing that she flicked with her tongue.

Gajeel's hands fisted in her hair, pulling it back and out of her face as she began to bob her head lightly on his now-stiff member. Kathryn sucked hard, dragging her tongue between each bar along the shaft and enjoying the grunts she was pulling from the surly man. Just the fact that Cobra was standing there watching them had her growing more wet, her hand itching to relieve some of the urge she felt to be touched.

Her eyes darted over to where Cobra stood when he tugged on her collar again and knew he was denying her previous thought when he shook his head, telling her she wasn't allowed to pleasure herself at all. Groaning in frustration, she was tempted to ignore the semi-direct order she'd just received and deal with the consequences afterwards.

Deciding to take her chances, she spread her legs slightly and slid her hand between her thighs, whimpering around Gajeel's cock when she felt how wet she truly was. Gajeel's hands in her hair roughly pulled her away from his body, forcing his cock to fall from her mouth and she looked up at him in shock.

"Looks like we have a rule breaker," He sneered, pulling her hair a bit harder until she whimpered and reached up to pull at his arms. "I know damn well that Cobra just told you that you weren't allowed to pleasure yourself, Kitten."

Kathryn pouted up at the slayer, her bottom lip jutting out as tears welled up from the pain of him pulling her hair so roughly. She dared not to speak, knowing she was already in trouble for disobeying one order. She wasn't bold enough to really piss them both off by speaking out of term.

"What should we do with her, Cobra?"

"I think that deserves a spanking," The Poison Dragon Slayer responded. "Let's make it… three on each cheek."

Gajeel released her hair and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge. Cobra pulled her along, watching as she crawled behind him in apprehension. She knew what to do when Gajeel patted his lap and laid herself out across his legs, her ass high in the air for him.

"Count them out and thank me for each one," The slayer ordered, smoothing his calloused hand across her ass cheeks.

His hand came down with a resounding smack, making Kathryn yelp in surprise and pain. "One, thank you, master," She said quickly, the sheets in front of her bunched in her fists as Gajeel's hand smoothed over the sore spot. The second smack landed on her other ass cheek, making her whimper once more. "Two, thank you, master."

By the sixth smack, Kathryn's eyes were watering and her ass was on fire, the milky flesh a brilliant red. She sighed in relief after thanking Gajeel for the spanking and slumping forward. Truthfully, she was extremely turned on by the day's events and was kind of excited to see what would happen next.

Gajeel moved her to the side in a sitting position and looked over at Cobra who grinned. "Now, then." He grabbed the chain between her hands, using it to pull her up the bed and attaching it to a hook above the bed. Walking down to her feet, he pulled the smaller chain off before attaching the other two restraints she'd seen before to the loops, spreading her legs far apart and fully displaying her body to them.

"Gajeel, can you grab the vibrator with the straps?" He asked his fellow slayer, who grinned almost evilly, making Kathryn nervous about what was about to happen.

Once he had the vibrator he'd requested in hand, Cobra moved to Kathryn's hips and strapped it onto her. One strap around the waist and one around either thigh to prevent it from being able to move. He grabbed a small remote and turned it on, sending vibrations straight to Kathryn's clit and making her moan out.

The moment the sound left her mouth, the vibration stopped, making her suck in a breath. "You will make no sound or it stops," Cobra ordered. "You will not be allowed to cum from this. I will ask you questions and you will respond to them, if you respond with 'no', the vibration stops. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Kathryn responded softly, biting her lip to stop herself from moaning as the vibrations returned.

"When you are home, you will no longer wear clothing if it is only those who live in this household. The only exception being if Lily or Lector are home, do you understand?"

She sucked in a breath, struggling to focus on his words and not the vibrations to her clit. "Yes, sir."

"If myself or Gajeel request any sexual favor from you while we are home, you will do it without question, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"You will always be waiting down here in the kneeling position with your collar and cuffs on when it is yourself and either of us home alone, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," She whimpered out, feeling herself coiling as an orgasm approached.

Just as she reached the edge, the vibrations stopped, making her move her hips in search of the friction that promised release. Kathryn whined like a dog, her frustration evident as her body began to calm down. She wasn't happy with not being allowed to cum and it was nearly maddening as she was just at the edge.

When her body cooled more, the vibrations returned, slightly stronger than it previously was and making her gasp in surprise. They stopped once more, making her bite her lip to prevent another sound being made. As if on cue, the vibrations returned, again increasing in intensity.

"If Sting asks you what goes on down here, you will tell him that you cannot say and that he is to ask one of us, do you understand?" Cobra asked her, his voice slightly gravelly.

"Y-yes, s-sir," Kathryn managed, her mind a cloudy daze.

"Bickslow and Laxus may, at some point, join us down here for future sessions. You will refer to them as you do us in this time and treat them as you do us, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

She felt herself coming close to another orgasm, the peak just within reach once more right before the vibrations stopped. She whimpered out in anguish, wanting nothing more than that sweet release at this point and willing to do almost anything to reach it. Shifting her hips in frustration, Kathryn threw her head back with a huff.

"Looks like our pet isn't enjoying this," Gajeel commented, amusement in his voice at her annoyance.

"Do you want to cum, pet?"

"Yes, sir," Kathryn replied, nearly begging with her voice.

"Too bad," Cobra chuckled, turning the vibrations on once again at a very low setting.

It was barely there, the vibrating sensation, but was just enough to drive the poor woman mad. She could almost reach peak, but it wasn't enough to drive her there. So, she was left, just on the edge, her hips wiggling as she sought something more substantial for her to finally orgasm.

"Keep wiggling, pet. We have two whole days with you. You'll be screaming for it when we're done."

Kathryn's eyes went wide as she looked up at Cobra and Gajeel, both grinning sadistically at her. Two days? They planned on making her suffer this way for two whole days? Holy fuck, she though to herself. What had she gotten herself into?


	13. Chapter 13

The rest of that first session had Kathryn going a bit crazy in her own mind. She was constantly on the edge of orgasm, but, seeing as she had two sadistic men controlling her, she could never reach that sweet release. When Cobra finally let her off of the bed, he threw a chastity belt on the poor woman, making her completely unable to touch herself to reach orgasm.

He kept the vibrator on her, making her go insane with want as she was made to go about other things. She made dinner for the slayers and herself, setting out things on the counter as she decided what she would do for food to try and keep her mind off of the slow vibrations against her clit.

Throwing a bunch of ingredients into a large pot, Kathryn set a stew on to simmer and nearly dropped the spoon she was holding when the vibrations suddenly increased, causing her to drop to her knees and cry out. Cobra's dark chuckles filled the kitchen as he watched her struggle to place the spoon on the counter, one hand between her legs as she moaned softly.

"Better stir your stew, pet," He goaded her with amusement in his voice. "Don't want to burn our dinner, do you?"

The vibrations stayed high as Kathryn stumbled to her feet, bracing herself on the counter as she attempted to focus on food. She grabbed the spoon and quickly stirred the pot before replacing the lid and collapsing to her knees once more, the peak coming ever so closely to her body.

"Please," She whimpered softly when the vibrations disappeared once more. She was not above begging at this point, struggling to keep herself from screaming out in frustration.

"Our pet is finally begging for it?" Gajeel asked as he walked into the room, grinning down at the frazzled woman.

"Please, I can't," Kathryn struggled to form the words, tears springing to her eyes.

"You can and you will," The dark haired man responded sternly.

"Why?"

"Oh, Kitten," He said, crouching down and cupping her cheek gently. "We're only training you right now. It won't be so bad so long as you behave."

"Please make it stop, baby," She whimpered, nuzzling into his hand. "I'll do anything."

"All you gotta do is last the rest of today and part of tomorrow," He assured her as the vibrations increased again and she squeaked.

"This is for not using the proper term when speaking to him," Cobra chuckled darkly from his seat at the counter.

Kathryn curled into a ball, her hands between her legs, cursing the men at the same time as she was falling in love with them. She loved being submissive to her men and them treating her this way was a major turn on for her, except all she wanted right now was to finally orgasm after hours of this torture.

By the end of the next day, they were back in the basement, Kathryn tied back down to the bed. The chastity belt was gone and the vibrator was working at full power. She writhed and moaned, the wetness of her pussy gleaming in the low lighting and making a dark stain on the sheets beneath her.

She was happy they'd allowed her to be as loud as she wanted this time, unsure of whether or not she would be able to control herself with how mad she was going within her mind. Her body was going haywire, every nerve within her on end with the constant state of arousal she had been held in for the past day and a half.

The vibrations stopped once more, leaving her a sweating, panting mess as she blindly sought attention to her frazzled body. She groaned in frustration, her hips swaying in search of something, anything to help her finally orgasm. It almost felt like the vibrations were there at all times, now, a gentle buzzing feeling on her clit that refused to get her off.

When her body calmed slightly, she sighed in simple relief, only to moan as the vibrations returned. "Gajeel, you go ahead first," She dully heard Cobra say. "I'm not sure if my cum will cause a reaction on you and she'll only survive it because of the mark."

Gajeel grunted and Kathryn felt the bed dip as he crawled up between her legs. When the slayer came into view, Kathryn's wild eyes locked with his, her mouth open on another moan. "Please," She whimpered.

He looked back and the vibrations increased tenfold, making Kathryn's eyes go wide. Just as she reached the edge of her peak, the vibrations stopped again, the endless cycle she'd lived in for almost two days. She was about to beg again when Gajeel's cock slammed into her, each piercing adding to the feeling of fullness.

Kathryn screamed out her release, her body arching up as she gripped the chains connected to her cuffs until her knuckles went white. She kept repeating her thanks as a mantra as she rode wave after wave of ecstasy. Her body clamping down on Gajeel's hard cock within her, making him grunt.

"Fuck," He groaned, pulling out and thrusting back in hard.

The thanks kept rolling off of Kathryn's tongue, her dazed mind unable to handle much more than form that simple phrase. Gajeel grasped her hips roughly as he slammed into her, the loop through the tip of his cock grinding against her g-spot from their position.

Kathryn could do nothing but hold on as the slayer sought his own release, his cock pushing her to a second and third orgasm. The sheets beneath them became soaked simply from her own juices, the only sounds in the room being that of her thanks, his grunts, the rattle of the chains, and the slapping of flesh upon flesh.

Just as the hard member within her gave a twitch, Gajeel leaned down towards Kathryn and bit into the inside of her bicep, the soft flesh easily giving way for his sharp teeth. The feel of his magic pouring into her was that of molten iron, the liquid-like magic pulsing into her body at the same time the slayer came, his seed bursting into her sensitive and quivering pussy.

Gajeel groaned, his hips thrusting forward one last time before he pulled out and released his jaw from her arm. He grinned down at the still softly twitching woman, her hips blindly grinding on air. He gave her a long, deep kiss on the lips, bringing her somewhat back to a sane state of mind, then got up and moved away from the bed.

Cobra detached the chains from her wrists and ankles, giving a tug on the one attached to her collar to make her struggle to sit up. "I want you bent over, love," He said gently, giving her a soft kiss.

Kathryn nodded, turning away from the slayer and presenting her ass high in the air for him. As he entered her cum and juice slickened pussy, the vibrations on her clit started back up, reawakening ever nerve in her body. Kathryn moaned, pushing back at the man behind her and grinding her hips against him.

"Good girl," Cobra groaned, pulling the leash taut to make her arch back into him.

He pulled her up and quickly undid the clasp on the collar, tossing it aside as he rocked his hips into her, his hand going around her throat as she was pulled against his chest. The redhead moaned loudly, the new position being something entirely new to her and being incredibly turned on from the current events.

Cobra was currently fucking her, his hand like a vice on her throat, while Gajeel watched, his own cum dripping out of her used pussy, a vibrator on her clit, and having been kept from orgasm, but on edge, for almost two days. The small woman was fairly certain she'd entered heaven as she approached release for the fourth- or was it fifth?- time.

The slayer fucking her knew how close she was and reached his free hand up to roughly pinch and twist her nipple, his cock pumping in and out of her quickly. The additional sensations were all she needed as Kathryn toppled over the edge once more, her mind nearly shutting down as she clamped down on the cock within her.

Cobra grunted and shifted his hand so he had her hair balled up in his fist. He leaned them both forward before biting down on the back of her neck, the pain mixing with the pleasure and making her orgasm continue as she whimpered and moaned beneath him.

His magic entered her body, the swirling and nauseating feeling spreading throughout her veins before cooling and drifting. His seed pumped into her, burning for only a moment before it began to cause a tingling sensation deep within her, the feeling causing the woman to shudder as her eyes closed on a low moan.

She went completely limp on the bed, her mind simply shutting down after everything that had been done to her for the past two days. Cobra lifted her into his arms, looking over her face and smiling when her eyes fluttered open to peer at him.

"You good, love?" When she only groaned, he chuckled and nuzzled her neck, breathing her scent in. She now smelled like all five of her mates, a small warning to any male who came near the woman. She would also be immune to any poisons thanks to Cobra's mark, a small perk to the kind of slayer he was.

Kathryn sighed happily and curled up on the man's lap, her body feeling deliciously gooey inside. She kissed his neck and looked over as Gajeel grabbed her feet and began taking off the cuffs that remained on her body. The way he did so was gently, almost as if he were afraid to hurt the red haired woman.

He pulled the straps of the vibrator off and removed it with the help of Cobra as both slayers moved her around gently, neither one moving too quickly. Gajeel gathered the items and threw them further up the bed before standing and stretching.

"Bath?" Kathryn questioned in a childlike voice, making both slayers chuckle.

"Yeah, let's get you a bath, Kitten," Gajeel said, reaching out for the woman to be passed to him. He nuzzled her hair when she was in his arms, doing the same motions as the other slayer as he inhaled and noted each of their distinctive scents on her body with her own fresh baked cookie smell.

He carried her up to her own bathroom, the master bathroom holding a huge garden tub that she imagined would hold all five of her mates and herself comfortably if they wanted. He placed her on the edge of the tub and began to get it ready, drawing the water and adding the salts that she indicated off to the side. In no time at all, the bathroom smelled of lavender and vanilla and Kathryn was being lowered into the water gently.

Gajeel lowered into the water next to her, a small sigh escaping his lips and pulling her under his arm. When Cobra turned to leave, Kathryn whined, garnering his attention. He chuckled when she made grabbing motions with his hands and shook his head as he entered the water and allowed his little mate to pull him to her chest.

"Gotta have both of my big bad dragons," Kathryn said with a smile on her face, petting Cobra's hair while Gajeel's hand rubbed up and down her arm soothingly.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning had Kathryn awakening to the front door slamming and she sat up, groggily blinking when someone entered her room. She blinked blearily to see her other three mates all standing there, frantic looks in their eyes. Her own glowing eyes went wide with realization and she looked down at Cobra and Gajeel both wrapped around her. Gajeel's arm was around her hips, his head resting on her stomach, while she'd been laying on Cobra's chest, his arm behind her back.

"Should have fucking known it was those two," Laxus shook his head, glaring down at the slumbering slayers.

Bickslow's tongue lolled out of his mouth, "Hey, can I join?"

Kathryn bit her lip, blushing a bit. "I… um… I'm actually really sore."

"I'll bet," Laxus chuckled. "We could all feel how fucking horny you were the past two days, Carrot Cake. What the fuck did they do to you?"

"Shut the fuck up," Cobra groaned, pulling Kathryn closer to himself.

"Sleeping," Gajeel growled, his arm tightening around her waist.

"Guys, I've gotta get up. You aren't my only two mates, you know," Kathryn said, rolling her eyes as she struggled to try and get free.

Cobra shifted and put his arm across her chest and Gajeel's other arm wrapped around her legs, effectively trapping the small woman between them. She wiggled, attempting to find some slack somewhere so she could free herself while not wanting to really jostle either of them.

"Help me?" She asked of her other three mates, smiling sheepishly up at them.

Sting shook his head, "Count me out. We get you free, we might see Gajeel and Cobra dick if they're as naked as you are right now."

"Yeah," Bickslow said, scratching his neck. "Might be a bad idea, babe."

"On your own with this one, Red." Laxus smirked, making the woman glare at them all.

"You're all traitors and I'm not giving you any for a while. Have fun being best friends with your hands, cause that's all the action you're going to be seeing," She threatened, struggling between the two insanely heavy slayers.

"More for us," Cobra commented.

"Hn," Gajeel agreed, smiling against her stomach.

"I hate you all."

Somehow, through no power of her own, Kathryn had managed to get free of the two naked slayers. She hoped that the only two she hadn't slept with yet weren't as grouchy in the morning as the other three were, but the odds were severely stacked against her.

She pulled on a pair of loose gray sweat pants and a black tank top over her matching dark red panties and bra. Braiding her hair as she wandered down to the kitchen, she smiled when she caught the aroma of food and figured that one of her many mates was adept in the kitchen and had decided to cook.

Entering the room, she was proven wrong as Lucy puttered around, her blonde hair tied back from her face. She turned a beaming smile on her friend and put a heaping tray of bacon on the counter. "I hope you don't mind," The blonde started, turning back to the bowl she was mixing. "Laxus said you were a bit trapped and they all begged me to start some breakfast for them."

"Buncha no good traitors," Kathryn narrowed her eyes at the men who she could see in the game room, gathered around the pool table with Lucy's team, the rest of the Raijinshuu, and Rogue. She turned back to the kitchen and smiled at Wendy who was sat at the counter, sipping a glass of orange juice. "Hey there, Wendy."

"Hello, Kathryn-sama," The bluenette greeted with a polite smile.

"What are we doing, Lucy?"

"I've got the bacon done so far, sausage is in the oven. This is for pancakes, but I'm not sure what your guys like," She responded, gesturing to the bowl she was mixing.

Kathryn nodded and went around the kitchen, pulling out the special ingredients that each of her mates enjoyed. She also grabbed the skillet that they'd gotten for cooking Cobra's food as well as the one for Gajeel's and set them on the stove. The joys of having so many people living in one house meant that she'd needed an industrial sized stove in the kitchen and it had eight burners, so cooking usually went as fast as it should any other time, even with four slayers relying on her.

Lucy parted out some of her mix into a few individual bowls and Kathryn mixed in the items she'd gathered. Metal shavings for Gajeel, rat poison for Cobra, berries for Bickslow, apple and cinnamon for Sting, and, lastly, a few sour candies for Laxus. She also set up some special plates for Rogue, Freed, Evergreen, and the exceeds, having learned their preferences so she could take care of those closest to each of her mates.

The blonde and the bluenette looked at her wide eyed as she placed the special pancakes on their respective plates in no time at all and set up the other items around the table needed to complete the breakfast. Kathryn turned to them with a tilt of her head. "What?"

"How do even remember all of that? I thought cooking for Natsu was hard, you do it with five men?" Lucy admonished, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"If I couldn't do something as simple as learning what each of them likes or dislikes, why would the universe give me more than one man to take care of?" She gestured to each plate, naming off which belonged to who and then her own plate, which held a single pancake with chocolate chips in it. "I have to be able to juggle them in the best way I know how and to do that, I need to know them completely."

"Okay," Lucy nodded before calling everyone to eat.

They all sat down at the huge table that had been custom made by Bickslow for the house, large enough to sit everyone present as well as extra room if it was needed. Each of the five men exchanged appreciative glances with their mate, happily digging into their large portions of food, seeing as how four of them were slayers and one of them simply had a large appetite.

"So," Lucy started as she sat next to Kathryn with Wendy on the other side to avoid fighting amongst the men. "You learned what each of them _and_ their teams like?"

"Of course," Kathryn responded as if it were obvious and the only thing she should have done.

"Okay, tell me about… Sting."

The slayer in question sat forward, grinning as the table grew quiet. "Sting is simple, he likes simple foods and doesn't like to get fancy," Kathryn began, tilting her head to smile lovingly at the White Dragon Slayer. "He would rather cuddle on the couch than go somewhere and doesn't like when he's talked to like he's dumb because he's actually rather intelligent, against popular belief. He doesn't fake being dumb, but he loses track of his thoughts easily, making him appear that way to others when he switches topics in a conversation."

Rogue looked awestruck, his jaw dropping open a bit. "You learned all of that in only a couple weeks?"

Kathryn shrugged, "I know all of them, including all of their teams. I could do the same with you, but it would likely be a bit embarrassing. For you."

He narrowed red eyes at her and looked as if he was going to say something but Sting shook his head, "Dude, she knows stuff. That stuff you don't want being said right now, stuff."

Kathryn smirked, nodding when he looked back at her, her eye twitching a bit to signify exactly _what_ she knew. Seeming to be appeased for now, Rogue sat back, looking down at his food with an emotionless mask on his face. Oh, she knew, she definitely knew what the Shadow Dragon Slayer was hiding, and it wasn't because of her Poison Slayer telling her, no, she'd learned this information through observation alone.

She smiled at the table, "Anyways. Why is everyone here this morning?"

"I wanted to come visit and Wendy wanted to come along," Lucy said, she grimaced a bit. "My team just invited themselves."

"Natsu," Kathryn said without turning her head. "If you break that vase, I will personally become your worst nightmare."

The Fire Dragon Slayer froze, his finger an inch from the vase in the center of the table, a small flame on his finger. He immediately pulled it back, sitting on his hands and smiling, "I wasn't touching it!"

"Uh-huh," The Dream Walker said, turning back to her food. "And what about the rest of you?"

"Well, Laxus and Bickslow left so quickly that we decided to come see what was going on," Freed stated, primly cutting off a sliver of pancake and eating it.

"And you?" She asked Rogue, tilting her head.

"Same, but with Sting," He responded.

"Hmm…" Kathryn said, returning to her food and not paying attention to the looks her men were giving her and each other.

Yeah, it was best not to bring up the reason they'd all rushed home in a horny frenzy.


	15. Chapter 15

Kathryn sat outside in the dusky night, sitting on a lounge chair near the pool and smoking a cigarette. It wasn't something she did often, but she needed one that night. Actually, she was currently on number four, but that was beside the point. She exhaled before slumping her head forward on her bent knees, her arm reaching over to flick off the ashes on the end of her cigarette into the metal ash tray Gajeel had made for her.

The Dream Walker rose her head when someone placed a blanket on her shoulders and looked up to see Cobra standing there, two wine glasses in his hands. He placed them on the table nearby and moved Kathryn forward so she could sit snuggled between his legs as he sat on the lounge. She sighed when he began running his fingers through her hair, a habit most of her men had gained as they all knew it relaxed the hyperactive woman.

"What's got you up so late, Little Bit?"

Kathryn sighed once more, feeling his blunt nails dragging across her scalp. "Just thinking," She responded after a moment of enjoying his ministrations.

Cobra hummed when Kathryn lit up yet another cigarette, silently taking note of how many she'd already smoked and frowning. Something had his mate worked up and not in a good way. He wasn't sure he liked when something had her doing this habit that could be deadly to her one day, even with her new immunity for poison.

"Thinking about what?" He asked, forcing his voice to stay calm and level so as not to let her see his worry.

"You're the Soul Listener, can't you hear it?"

"Your mind is always working on a lot of things at once," He told her, pulling her back so she was laying against his chest with his arms around her. "It's hard to figure out what is going on in that busy little mind of yours."

Kathryn sighed, she did have a habit of working on many things at once. She couldn't help it, she had always been able to think through all of her problems at one time and then change the subjects quickly to keep herself focused on the most important objectives so that she wouldn't miss any small details from whatever was on her mind at the time.

"I was thinking about my old world," She responded softly after a few moments.

Cobra's body tensed up, making Kathryn set down her cigarette and shift so she could look him in the eye. She saw the pain and fear there that no other would be able to sense. Those emotions were flowing through their bond with a high level of anxiety, likely him thinking she wanted to go back.

Kathryn shook her head, red curls bouncing lightly. "I don't want to go back," She reached out to touch his cheek, forcing him to keep his gaze locked with hers. "I was thinking about why I hated that world and why I would never want to leave here."

His brow drew together, "Why do you hate that world so much?"

She sighed once more, leaning her head down on his chest, her ear directly over his heart. She was almost sad he was wearing his usual thermal shirt, but knew that her Poison Slayer got cold easily due to the very serpentine nature of his magic. It was too bad he covered up all the deliciousness she knew his body was.

Gearing herself up, she knew she needed to tell him, to tell all of them, what had happened in her past. It wasn't something she really wanted to do, but she needed to learn to trust them all explicitly to still care for her even after hearing what she had to say. She knew so much about all of them, and yet, they knew so very little about her own past. That wasn't quite fair.

"You know I was married before, right?" She asked, looking up to see Cobra give a short nod. "My husband wasn't who I thought he was. He was abusive, aggressive, and heartless."

"Yet you live with a minimum of three overly aggressive men," Cobra remarked, pulling a smile from his mate's lips.

"You all aren't aggressive towards me unless we're in the sack, at which point it's totally acceptable," She grinned cheekily before her smile fell. "No, he was aggressive to the point he refused to listen to me speak, like you're doing now. I couldn't talk to him about anything, I had to keep my fears and frustrations bottled up, hidden from the world."

Cobra stayed quiet as Kathryn told him what had happened with her ex, his face almost unwavering as she spoke about their life together early on. The emotion showed the moment she mentioned him raising a hand to her, a growl pulling from the slayer's chest and his arms tightening around the small woman.

"He didn't deserve you," Cobra ground out through clenched teeth, his fangs gleaming in the moonlight.

Kathryn shook her head while smiling up at her mate. "No, he didn't," She cupped his cheek in her small hand. "All of you do, though. I was lost in thought about how much I hated that place and the one thing that I kept thinking about was how much I hated it because you all weren't there. I have everything I need right here, with you."

Cobra smiled gently, a smile that he reserved only for her. The barest hints of dimples forming in his cheeks and having Kathryn's heart warming. He wasn't so heartless as people thought he was, he was simply guarded and it took a lot to make him trust others. Without their bond and them being mates, Kathryn was sure it would have taken her a very long time to actually gain the trust of the man, let alone see his heart for what it truly was.

She leaned up and pulled him down, placing her lips to his softly. The kiss was perfect, something that made her toes curl and heart stutter. She had been looking for this exact feeling all her life with one man and she'd found it with five. How strange life could be to pull her from a world of loneliness and despair and drop her into a world full of such copious amounts of caring and love.

His tongue swiped across her lips and she sighed into the kiss, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth and tangle with hers. Cobra tasted of almonds and the barest hints of cocoa, a delicious combination that had Kathryn aching for more. His razor sharp fangs nipped at her lower lip before he smoothed over it with his tongue, soothing the soreness with a gentleness that she never knew he'd had within him.

The man was as broken, if not more so than, she was. It was there, in his eye, the way his shoulders hunched when others came too close to him, in the way he would tense up when anyone spoke to him. It was an everyday battle for him to fight against the teachings he'd grown up on, to simply be passive enough for others to not die by his hand once more.

Kathryn was likely the first person to worm their way into his heart the way she had, to open him up to a chance at love and happiness. She could tell he'd begun to heal as she'd worked to make sure he was receiving as much of her care and attention as the rest of her mates, to be sure he understood he was on her mind when all others were as well. That was all she could do, and it seemed to be more than enough as his eye had slowly begun to shine brighter, his back stood taller, his muscles relaxed more.

Cobra smiled as he broke the kiss, placing one gentle kiss to her lips, one to each of her cheeks, and finally one to her forehead, as if he knew a small headache was beginning to plague her mind. He leaned back, cradling Kathryn to his chest and stroked her hair, a rumbling purr flowing through his chest that calmed the woman to no end.

She fell asleep, smiling, with her ear over the heart of a man she'd fallen helplessly in love with.


	16. Chapter 16

"Absolutely not."

Kathryn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance. "I'm doing it anyways."

"And I said no," Laxus said, glaring down at her with his stormy gray eyes quickly turning into hardened steel. "It's too dangerous for you to go anywhere without at least one of us."

"Laxus, I'm not a child," She stomped her foot in a gesture that clearly contradicted her words, her face turning red with irritation.

He simply rose a brow at her, his gaze unwavering. His little mate could be quite the handful and she was as stubborn as he was, if not more. "You're taking someone with you, that's final."

"Bullshit," Kathryn said, glaring at the largest of her mates as she looked back at the job board. "I need a break from you all and I'm going without you. All of you."

"Then take someone else with you."

She rolled her eyes, still focusing on the job board and knowing the rest of her mates were nearby, listening to the argument with rapt attention. "Shut the fuck up and leave me alone, you fucking pansy," She snapped, drawing the attention of the rest of the guild. It was obvious why they were all paying such close attention to her, no one talked to Laxus that way without a hefty dose of electricity coursing through their bodies.

He growled low, the sound sending shivers up her spine in a way that contradicted his intentions. "Don't call me a pansy, woman. You're not going alone, that's not fucking happening."

"And I told you," Kathryn said, turning to him and poking a finger into his well-muscled chest and smiling that sickly sweet smile that sent shivers down her mate's spines. "Fuck off."

Without looking, she grabbed a job and turned to walk away, aiming for the bar when Laxus' arm shot out to grab her upper arm and freezing her into position. She turned slowly, her glare hardening at the man whom she loved dearly but wanted to tear apart at that particular moment in time.

"Remove your fucking hand or you're going to regret it, Thunder," She ground out through clenched teeth. If there was anything she hated, it was being manhandled anywhere outside of the bedroom, and all five of her mates knew this. She didn't like to be pushed around as it reminded her of her past, which she'd come clean with each of them about over the past few days. They knew her fears of the past and all had had nearly the same reactions of anger at her ex and protectiveness over her.

"I don't want you going alone."

"I'll go with her," Lucy said, bounding over with a cheery smile on her face. "Wendy and I were going to go alone, but we can go along with Kat if she wants us to."

Kathryn's body relaxed the moment Laxus' hand released her arm and she smiled brightly at her friend. "Thanks, Lucy. I'd love for you and Wendy to come with me. Let's go before Thor here decides he needs to bring down the wrath of Asgard."

The pair ran quickly to the bar for Mira to sign the job off for them and Wendy then headed out to look for the small slayer. Lucy chattered to her about her excitement at getting to go with Kathryn on her first job and Kathryn giggled, being just as excited and ready for some much needed girl time.

They gathered Wendy and headed to the train station to make their way to the town that their job was located near. The trip was uneventful and Kathryn pretended not to notice when two particularly sickly looking slayers stepped off of the train behind her, keeping her mind focused on the job.

She'd known that they wouldn't let her go without them going along in some capacity, but was grateful that they let her have a bit of space so she could just fucking _breathe_. It was nice having so many men at her beck and call, but Kathryn seriously needed a while to herself and a day out with two of her female friends would solve that, she was sure.

They completed the job without a hitch, a simple delivery job from one town to another and they split the hefty reward between them, though Kathryn really didn't need the money due to three of her mates being S-Class and two more who might as well have been. Her men took care of everything she needed and all she had to do was ask one for some spending money and she could have gone out to buy whatever she'd needed.

That wasn't the point, though. No, the money wasn't a necessity in the least. What did matter was the fact that she had yet to go on a job after being in the guild for almost two months and she hadn't had a chance to go on a single job. She felt cooped up all the time in the house or at the guild and she'd needed a chance to stretch her legs, without one of her mates breathing down her neck.

As they got onto the train to head back home, Kathryn felt a lurch in her stomach but took a few deep breaths in hopes of staving off the nausea. When the train began to move, the small woman bolted for the bathroom and threw up all of her lunch into the toilet in great heaves. She made her way back to her seat with her face covered in a light sheen of sweat from the effort, sitting down heavily.

"Kathryn-sama," Wendy started, looking at her friend with a concerned gaze. "Are you okay?"

Kathryn nodded weakly, trying to force down the nausea once more. "Just a bit over excited from the trip, I guess," She responded, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

The small slayer didn't seem to believe this answer and moved to sit next to the redhead. "Would you like me to check you over?"

She received a shake of the head in response. "No, I'm fine," Kathryn said, breathing deeply. "I'm gonna just head straight home when we get to the station and probably lay down."

That's precisely what she did, flopping face-down onto her bed and groaning as more nausea flooded her senses. She felt awful and was hoping that this stomach bug, or whatever it was, would be merciful on her poor body. The last thing she needed was to be sick with five overprotective men breathing down her neck.

A knock on her door had the small woman groaning in response, too tired to even form words. Whoever it was sat next to her on the bed and began rubbing her back in soothing circles. "You okay, babe?"

Kathryn turned her head to look at Bickslow, his brows drawn together in concern. "I'm good, just a stomach bug or something."

He hummed, brushing her hair from her face. "You want a hot bath? Some tea maybe?"

She opened her mouth to say something but the nausea flared and she ran to the bathroom, bending over the bowl as she threw up what little remained in her stomach while Bickslow followed her in and held her hair back from her face. The man was truly a blessing, she thought as she rested her head on the arm slung over the rim of the bowl.

"Why didn't you have Wendy check you over?" His voice was pure concern, obviously not enjoying seeing his mate this way.

"Didn't wanna bother her with a stomach bug," Kathryn managed through panting breaths. "It should pass in a day or two, I'm sure."

Bickslow looked doubtful and wandered over to the tub to start it running. Once it was filled with Kathryn's favorite bath salts in it, he walked back over to her and helped her to stand, taking the brunt of her weight against his body. Kathryn allowed him to help her undress and he lifted her into the tub, smiling slightly as she sighed in contentment.

"Do you want that tea? We have all kinds in the kitchen."

Kathryn nodded, knowing they had every kind of tea imaginable seeing as one of them had noticed she liked all kinds of herbal teas and had stocked an entire shelf of the pantry with the dried leaves. "Peppermint?"

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute," He leaned over the tub and kissed her on the top of her head before disappearing through the doorway in search of the requested tea.

Kathryn leaned back in the tub, sighing once more as the warm water helped to soothe her nausea. She really hoped this stomach bug wouldn't stick around for too long, she really wanted to go on more jobs and had seen one for Akane Resort that she planned to see if Lucy wanted to go with her, Sting, and Rogue on. It would be the perfect opportunity for the Shadow Dragon Slayer to stop dragging his feet and make a fucking move.

She opened her eyes to see Laxus in the doorway, a frown on his face. "Not a fucking word," Kathryn said through gritted teeth.

"You shouldn't have gone," Laxus said anyways, moving to the side of the tub and sitting on the rim to stroke her hair.

"Do you see me right now?" Kathryn gestured to herself. "Alive, fine. It was a simple job and I had Lucy and Wendy with me. In case you forgot, Wendy can heal people."

"So why didn't you have her heal you if you're so sick?"

She resisted the urge to either gouge out her mate's eyes or her own and sunk below the water, screaming out her frustration before surfacing and glaring at him. "If one more of you asks me that, I'm going to murder every last one of you before committing suicide by dramatically leaping from the highest turret of the guild," She threatened, earning a chuckle from the slayer as Bickslow walked in holding a tray with a pot of tea, sugar, and honey.

"What did I miss?" He asked, setting the tray down and doctoring a cup to what he knew his mate liked, about half the cup full of sugar and two spoons of honey.

"Our overdramatic mate threatening mass murder followed by suicide," Laxus informed him, taking the cup and offering it to the woman in question.

Kathryn accepted it and downed the steaming cup, sighing as she set the empty cup aside and relaxed in the water. "Only if any of the other three ask me why I didn't have Wendy heal me," She corrected, keeping her eyes closed as the men laughed at her. The moment Sting entered the bathroom, Kathryn opened one eye to peer at him, daring him to question her.

The blond looked around before leaning against the counter, "Are we having a party in here?"

"She got sick," Laxus explained quickly.

"Twice," Bickslow added on.

He opened his mouth to speak and Kathryn pointed an accusing finger, "I swear to all that is holy, if you value your fucking life, you better not ask me the question we both know you want to ask."

"All I was going to ask is if you were feeling better?"

She sighed heavily, going back under the water to scream once more. When she came up, her face was bright red and she was heaving for breath. If she'd known that she would receive the same questions from all five of her mates, she would have probably just had Wendy heal her and left them all in the dark about the bout of nausea.

"Are you done?"

She turned to glare at Laxus, her glowing eyes narrowing at his smirking, smug face. "Shut the fuck up."

"Are you hungry?"

Kathryn's eye twitched as she looked over at Sting, who looked just as smug as his fellow blond. "After I was just sick? After I threw up everything in my stomach?"

"So… yes?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, she knew that the slayer meant well, she really did. Sighing, she nodded, "I really want something sour. Top shelf of the pantry, towards the back."

He paused in his steps towards the door, then turned back to her, his eyes going wide. "Babe?"

"What?" Kathryn said as she got out of the tub and accepted the towel Bickslow passed to her.

"You don't like sour foods."

She stopped in her methodical way of drying herself and narrowed her eyes. Sure she did… right? Why else would she want some? The idea that she would want something she didn't like was crazy, to say the least, so she had to like sour stuff. "Of course I like sour foods," She said simply, tilting her head at the slayer.

"Okay… anything else you want?" He really didn't seem convinced by her response and, apparently, the other two had come to agreeing with him, their faces into that of near shock.

"Maybe some cake, I could go for some pound cake or something," Kathryn put a finger to her chin a moment before nodding. "And almonds. There should be some in the baking cabinet above the stove. Cake should be on the counter."

The room went silent, no one making a move as she wandered out of the bathroom. Surely they had heard her wrong, right? She didn't like any of those foods. What was going on with the woman? There was an unspoken conversation before Laxus stood up.

"You get the woman her food and I'll go to the guild and get Wendy," He informed the other slayer before turning to his best friend. "Stay with her. You have my lac number, call me if anything weird happens."

"Aside from her throwing up and wanting random foods?" When Laxus gave him a bland look, the Seith mage shrugged and walked out of the room, happy to have the easy job of babysitting his mate, or so he thought.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N;** _As I said in my story "Call of Cthulhu", I'm trying to space out chapters on these two stories because I've recently been swamped with other things. From dealing with my own mental health to being super inspired to write my story "A Game Of Chance", I just haven't had too much drive to write on these two stories. I have about 10 more chapters written ahead on this one, but will be posting them a bit slowly while I try to get what I can out of my system of the other story. I hope you enjoy this story, though! Big non-surprises are here!_

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 ** _Word Count:_** _1,974_

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Laxus was walking up the stairs with Wendy at his side, explaining what had happened in the bathroom when he heard shouting and ran the rest of the way to his mate's bedroom to find her glaring at his best friend and throwing pillows at him. He struggled to understand what was happening and could only stare as the naked woman ranted at and assaulted the man who was twice her size.

"You insufferable bastard!" Kathryn shouted, throwing another pillow. "How could you have eaten all of the almonds and not fucking told me! I wanted those!"

"Hey!" He shouted, dodging to the side as a pillow flew past where his head just was. "I didn't know you- ouch- wanted them, babe! You don't like almonds!"

Kathryn growled deep in her throat as she ran out of pillows and ran at the man full-force, her hands aiming for his neck when Laxus caught her around the waist. She struggled a moment before she gave up and broke down in tears, allowing the man to carry her to her bed and lay her down, giving Bickslow a "what the fuck" look over his shoulder.

The redhead sniffled and looked up at Laxus with watery eyes, "He ate all my almonds."

"I'll go get more," He promised, tucking her into the bed.

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"And chocolate milk?"

"And chocolate milk."

"And bring Gajeel home?"

This made him pause as he went to brush her hair from her face and he looked down at the teary-eyed woman curiously. "Why do you need Gajeel?"

"I wanted to ask him something and its not something anyone else can answer," She responded simply, wiping her tears away.

"Okay, I'll find Gajeel," Laxus promised, kissing her forehead. "Wendy is here to see you."

As if a switch had flipped, the redhead was glaring up at him. "I told you that it was only a stomach bug." Her voice was clipped with annoyance and the slayer rolled his eyes, hoping these mood swings were simply due to her stomach being upset.

"We're worried about you, just let her check over you and I'll not only bring Gajeel home, but Cobra as well," He knew she had an extra special soft spot for that particular mate, much to his chagrin. At this point, he would promise her the world if it meant she would allow the Sky Maiden to look her over.

Kathryn nodded enthusiastically, "Okay!" She looked over towards the door and smiled brightly at the bluenette, "Hey, Wendy!"

"Hi, Kathryn-sama," The bluenette smiled back as she moved towards the bed. "I have an idea of what might be wrong, but can I still check you over to be sure?"

Kathryn nodded again, "Yeah, that's fine."

Given the okay, Wendy waited for Laxus to move away and give her space to walk up to the side of the bed and pull down the covers so that the older woman was only covered in a sheet. She glanced over at Sting, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Bickslow, who had sat in a chair near the window, waiting for news on their beloved mate's health.

Her hands began to glow as they passed over Kathryn's body, hovering gently above her abdomen. Blue brows drew together and she nodded, confirming her suspicions but not wanting to say anything just yet. She pulled her hands away and pulled the covers back up.

"So?" Kathryn prompted, hoping to get this over with.

"So, Laxus was telling me that you don't like sour candies, cake, or almonds, yet you wanted to eat them?"

Kathryn shrugged, "I was hungry and that's what I wanted."

"And you got sick."

"Twice," Bickslow tacked on, earning a glare from his mate.

"Yes."

"You seem particularly moody, Kathryn-sama," Wendy observed, looking at both men and seeing they knew exactly where she was going with this.

"Aren't I always?" Kathryn said dryly. She was growing bored of this and began braiding a piece of her hair to keep her hands busy.

Wendy grew silent, hoping to bide time for Laxus to return. She looked over at Bickslow, "Do you know how long it will take Laxus-sama to come back?"

He shrugged, "Not sure. I can call him, if you'd like."

The bluenette nodded, her pigtails swinging with the motion. "Yes, I think that would be best. And make sure he has both Cobra and Gajeel with him when he returns."

When the Seith Mage left the room, Kathryn sighed heavily and began playing with his babies, poking them in the air and giggling as they danced around just above her fingers. She loved the little souls, they were just too precious. The five of them were almost like her five mates, in attitude and number. They each had particular personalities and they reflected those of her mates in almost exact replicas, it was both amusing and disconcerting at the same time.

She toyed with the souls for a few minutes, losing track of time as she did so, until she heard a loud crack of thunder just outside the house and sighed heavily. "He better have not forgotten my almonds," She grumbled, making Sting laugh.

"I'm sure he didn't, Little Red."

Kathryn rolled her eyes and waited for her other four mates to walk up to the room, eying the largest of them suspiciously until he pulled a small bag out of his pocket and handed it to her. She grinned cheekily when she saw the small almonds within the bag and began munching on them happily. "Thanks, Thunder, you're the best," She said around a mouth full of the almonds.

He grinned back, "Yeah, don't forget it, Carrot Cake."

"What's going on?" Gajeel asked with a raised brow and his arms crossed over his chest.

Wendy toyed with her fingers, "It appears that Kathryn-sama is pregnant."

This caused several things to happen simultaneously. Kathryn spit out the mouthful of nuts she had, Cobra's eye went as wide as a dinner plate, Bickslow began laughing hysterically while he dragged his hands through his hair, Sting simply fainted and fell off the edge of the bed, and Laxus sat down in a chair heavily, staring the bluenette down as if she'd grown a second head.

"You're sure?" Kathryn asked after coughing up a few chunks of almond from her windpipe.

Wendy nodded, "I am, and it is absolutely a slayer's child with how quickly it is developing."

"Rules out Bickslow as daddy number one," She mumbled to herself. "Can we tell which one yet?"

"Well… It appears you are having… Triplets…"

Kathryn's eyes went wide and her hands went to her stomach, rubbing the area in wonder. "Which?"

"Cobra, Laxus, and Gajeel."

"Almonds, sour foods, and metal…" Kathryn trailed off, everything clicking into place.

"If you are craving metal, you should be able to safely ingest it due to you being mated to him already, same goes for any poisons with Cobra," Wendy informed her. "The babies will need the elements of their fathers frequently for the first few months so that they can become stronger. As they are slayer babies, they will grow a little faster than any normal child would."

"How long?"

"You have about five and a half months to go."

"So about a third faster than normal, not bad," Kathryn nodded, instantly accepting this news. She was carrying the children of three of her mates, it was… unexpected, but they hadn't been exactly careful and she was honestly excited to start a family. Thankfully they'd gotten a house with more bedrooms than they needed, she thought to herself.

A thought occurred to her as her glowing eyes narrowed and Cobra flinched, instinctively going on the defensive when he heard a clear thought filter through his mate's mind. I can't go on anymore jobs?! She seemed to scream at once before turning her glare on each man.

"You motherfucking assholes!" Kathryn shrieked before breaking down into a fit of tears, drawing the attention of all five mates as Sting wobbly stood to his feet, rubbing his head.

They all immediately moved to comfort the woman before she began laughing hysterically and holding her stomach, a strange look of glee upon her face. It was a look that said "I'm fucking crazy and about to seriously snap" and had all five men stopping in their tracks.

"Cobra, Laxus, Gajeel, can you go to the guild or something? I'd like to talk to Bickslow and Sting _alone,_ " She said quietly, her voice sickeningly sweet.

The three men narrowed their eyes in question, making Kathryn look up and tilt her head. "If we don't tell Mira as soon as possible, she will want to skin all of you alive for holding something so amazing from her. And I might be in the mood to let her after _you put three goddamn children inside of my fucking tiny ass body_."

The men in question, moved quickly out of the room with Wendy saying she would accompany them to the guild to give her time to speak with her mates. Kathryn smiled as the girl walked out of the room and got up from the bed to get some clothing. She selected her outfit and dressed quickly, taking note of the barely noticeable swell in her belly.

When she walked out of the room, her two men followed her, sharing questioning glances as she grabbed her almonds and added a helping of sour candies and metal shavings to them before heading out of the door. Kathryn munched as she walked, trying to decide how she wanted to approach the subject currently on her mind.

She took a deep breath as she settled herself in between the two, looping her arm with Bickslow's and leaning her head on his shoulder while she tangled her fingers with Stings. They got a lot of strange looks on the street, but no one questioned them as she was with two of the top class section of Fairy Tail, the strongest guild in Fiore.

"Are you two okay with not getting to go first with this?" Kathryn finally asked, frowning to herself.

Bickslow stiffened slightly under her head and let out a sigh of his own. "I'm not gonna lie, Fluffy, I'm a little disappointed." He frowned a moment before he gave her his signature tongue-lolling grin, "But knowing you're going to be snapping all the time means I won't be in the line of fire and get more attention."

Sting gave her hand a gentle squeeze in his, "He's right. And adding two more to your body? Mavis, help us if you or any of us survive that one." His face went ghostly pale for a moment before he chuckled and pulled her hand up to kiss her knuckles. "It's not like you chose this anyways, love. Just try to take it easy and worry about yourself and the babies. We're all going to be compelled to take care of all of them anyways."

"Because they're mine?"

He nodded seriously, "With your scent being all over them, all of us slayers are going to end up claiming them. Bickslow's just the kind of guy who will do whatever to make you happy and likes kids so he'll do it without the instincts."

Bickslow shrugged good-naturedly, "Pretty much. Any kid of my woman's is a kid of mine."

Having those fears smoothed over, they approached the guild where the other three of her Royal Guard were standing outside, obviously terrified to enter without her. The reason why was an obvious one as they all were sheet white and discussing something in a heated debate.

Her heart sank as tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, god, we have to tell Mira," She whispered in despair.

* * *

 **A/N;** _Who saw that coming? Everyone? Oh, okay. Well... I'm not going to spoil anything buuuuuuuut, enjoy the next few chapters of crazy pregnancy Kathryn *cringe*_


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N;** _So, there's no excuse as to why I haven't updated ANY of my FT fics other than the fact I've just been super busy with other inspiration {Meaning; I may or may not be writing two Twilight fics and am holding onto a Harry Potter one until it's finished to avoid leaving projects partially completed}. So! I'm going to post the next two chapters of this and updating Call of Cthulhu with 2 chapters as well that way no one hates me. The next chapter leaves you on a cliffhanger {Because, let's be honest, I LOVE those} but! Things are going to get dark soon, as all of my fics generally do. So, enjoy, or something ;P_

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"Absolutely not."

Kathryn felt the strangest feeling of déjà vu as she glared up at Laxus, the Lightning Dragon Slayer seeming unfazed by her annoyed look. "I just want to go to the resort for a few days," She protested, shifting her appearance so she was pouting, her bottom lip jutting out slightly.

"You need to be at home _resting_ ," He put stress on the word as his hands landed on his little mate's shoulders.

It had been about a month and a half since Wendy had told them that Kathryn was pregnant and the woman was getting restless being unable to leave to go on jobs ever. Her mates were all hovering over her every move and she was never able to go anywhere without a minimum of two of them with her. She was lucky she was even at the guild that day.

"Akane is too busy and what if something were to happen without Wendy close by?"

Kathryn rolled her eyes, she was getting tired of his constant worrying. "I'll be fine. It's not like you can't zap us back here if something happens," She said, rubbing the small swell of her belly. "I just want to go and relax outside of the house. I'm getting a little bit stir crazy from being locked up all the time."

"She did clean the entire house," Bickslow pointed out from his spot at the bar next to her.

"Twice," Cobra added, stroking the ends of her hair from her other side.

"You shouldn't be encouraging her," Laxus accused, glaring at the other two men.

"She's right, though," Sting said as he approached. "She's been locked up. Maybe we could all use a break."

"Is everyone siding with her on this one?"

Kathryn watched as each of her mates shrugged in agreement and smiled up at the oldest of her group in victory. "Looks like we're going to Akane," She giggled behind her hand then gasped when she felt a strange fluttering in her stomach.

Everyone in the guild paused in their movements when the sound escaped her lips, no one moving as all five men's eyes locked on their mate. Cobra got up quickly and knelt on the ground, pressing his ear against her stomach. A small rumbling purr came from the man and that special smile he only showed when the two of them were alone showed on his face as he listened.

"Did they move?" Laxus asked quietly, as if him speaking might break the wonder of the moment.

Cobra nodded and got up, only to be replaced by Gajeel who began to purr as well when his ear touched her stomach. Kathryn smiled as each of her mates took turns listening to the babies moving around within her womb, a chorus of happy purrs filling the guild hall. Bickslow frowned a bit and looked down before Kathryn tugged his hand and moved him around so he could press his ear to her stomach as well.

The Seith Mage gasped slightly, looking up at her in wonder. "How can I hear them so clearly?"

"I amplified the sounds for a moment," Cobra nodded to his friend, and surely they were friends at this point. All of Kathryn's mates had become friends at some point along the journey they were all on together and it filled her heart with happiness to see them interact together.

Kathryn buried her face in her hands, finally giving in to the emotions that had welled up inside of her at seeing her mates all fawning over the movements the babies had made. She truly did love all of them and this only cemented that fact further. Some of the toughest mages in the guild were purring like kittens with tears in their eyes over the movement of babies within the womb and it was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen.

"Well," Laxus said after a moment for everyone to regain their composure after the heartwarming moment. He drug a hand through his spiky blond hair and sighed, "When do you want to go to Akane?"

Kathryn's eyes went wide and she jumped up in a wave of excitement and into the arms of the slayer, giggling like a madwoman. "Can we go now? Please?" She begged, her glowing eyes shining with excitement.

"Get home and pack, I'll make a few calls. Is it just us?"

The redhead stopped in place, her mind trying to clear so she could think. "Lucy! Rogue!" She shouted, looking around for the two. "You wanna go to Akane with us?"

"I'm not turning down a free trip to a resort and to get away from my team for a while," Lucy smiled brightly and walked over to her friend, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Let's go pack."

"Rogue?" Kathryn asked, looking at the slayer who had come to be something of a brother to her over the past two months. When he shrugged, she took that as ascension to whatever she wanted and she turned back to Laxus. "We're taking them with us."

"Alright, now go pack before I change my mind." He gave his mate a small swat on the butt, sending her along with a grin on his face and shaking his head.

* * *

The moment she stepped into the resort, Kathryn's eyes went wide and she turned a full circle with a grin on her face. "Holy shit," She said with wonder in her voice. "There's a spa!" She shouted, running over to the listings with Lucy right behind her.

Laxus huffed, "I'll go get us checked in and grab our room keys. You guys keep an eye on them before they-"

Two high pitched squeals caught the attention of everyone in the lobby of the hotel and six men turned with fear in their eyes, ready to attack when they noticed both women holding each other and dramatic tears running down their faces. Kathryn pulled away and began cheering, her fist pumping in to the air as she giggled.

"Manicures!" She chanted.

Lucy giggled and pumped her fist up as she looped her arm with her pregnant friend's, "Pedicures!"

"Hair!"

"Massages!"

They turned to each other, their grins huge as freshly dramatic tears fell from their eyes. "Waxing!" They wailed, dropping to their knees.

"What the actual fuck?" Bickslow questioned, watching the two with both confused interest and amusement.

"What did they mean by waxing?" Sting questioned, making Rogue facepalm. "What?"

"Dude," Bickslow said, turning to his brother-husband. "Do you think Fluffy is just hairless down there magically?"

"I figured she just shaved," The clueless slayer shrugged.

Laxus could only stare at his fellow blond with a blank face. "You think that our pregnant mate has been leaning over her stomach, which, by the way, is three times the size it should be at this stage, and is shaving her goodies?"

"I mean… Doesn't she?"

"How fucking dense are you?" Gajeel asked as his eye twitched slightly.

The two women bounded over to a stall and began 'ooing' and 'ahing' at the trinkets, pointing out pieces to each other and giggling over things none of the men could guess. They were oblivious to the odd conversation they'd caused and were too absorbed in their perusal of everything they saw.

"I'm just gonna go get us checked in," Laxus said, wandering away from the group of men and shaking his head as Bickslow began explaining the waxing process to the White Dragon Slayer in hushed tones so the women wouldn't hear.

After the room keys were in hand and they were sitting in their room, Kathryn kicked off her shoes and sat on the enormous California king-bed and sighed happily. "My feet are killing me," She whimpered with a lip jutted out, looking over at Gajeel and batting her eyelashes at the Iron Dragon Slayer.

He shook his head and knelt down in front of her, pulling her feet into his lap and beginning to rub them. "You're one devious little woman, Kitten," He said gruffly.

"You like it, Stud," She said, winking at him, making the slayer chuckle.

"So what do you want to do first?" Cobra asked, sitting next to her and placing a hand to her stomach.

"I'm going to the spa with Lucy once she gets done unpacking," Kathryn said with a grin. She was really excited to spend time with the woman and get a massage, especially once she found out they did special massages for pregnant women that helped to reduce the pressure in the spine that came with carrying a child.

"What does that mean for us?" Sting asked with a frown. "You're just ditching us?"

"Oh, my dear Firefly," Kathryn's voice was sweet as she smiled at him. "You all are welcome to join us, however, we're likely going to be discussing the baby shower. On second thought, maybe we should all sit and plan a huge party, I can start planning completely."

"Nope, no thanks," He said quickly, obviously not wanting to deal with girl talk.

"We'll go to the casino or something," Laxus interjected, making Kathryn smile at him brightly.

"Just behave yourselves," She ordered. "I'll keep my lacrama on me if anything happens."

The knock on the door signaled Lucy and Rogue's arrival and Kathryn jumped up from the bed and slid her flip-flops on. She went around the room, quickly giving each man a quick kiss before opening the door and rushing out with Lucy, leaving Rogue behind with her mates.

The two women were quickly immersed in the spa and were laying on massage tables, Lucy face-down and Kathryn on her side, the masseuses working out the kinks in their muscles. They were both sighing in contentment at the ministrations and feeling the stress leaving their bodies.

"So," Kathryn started, loving the chance to talk to her friend with no one around. "I didn't realize Laxus would put you and Rogue together in a room."

Lucy blanched, propping herself on an elbow and pulling the towel around herself. "I know! I can't believe he did that to us!" She gasped out. "Rogue's face got so red when he saw there was only one bed!"

This comment caused both women to giggle as they got up and put on their robes before making their way to the nail salon. "How do you feel about him?" Kathryn questioned, placing her swollen feet in the foot bath and sighing.

"Rogue?" When Kathryn nodded, Lucy sighed. "He's hot, for sure, but that's not all there is to him. He's really smart and enjoys the same things I do. I like him, I really do. I wish he would just make a damn move already."

Kathryn's brow shot up as she sipped the fruit juice she was supplied and an idea started to form in her head. "I have a plan that could force him to make a move," She confided, leaning in with a sinister grin when Lucy gestured to spill. She was ready for her friend and adoptive brother to get together and she would do anything to see it happen. Call it the ideals of a woman in love, but she wanted everyone to be as happy as she was.

This was going to be fun.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N;** _As promised! A second chapter! This one is short, but the next one is maybe a bit longer and will be posted soon! Much love, my dears!_

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The women were walking back towards their rooms when Kathryn patted her sweater pockets. "Damnit," She mumbled, pausing in the hallway. "I left my com back in the locker."

"I'll go back for it," Lucy volunteered with a soft smile. "I'll meet you upstairs."

Nodding, Kathryn continued on her trek through the hotel's hallways, her room being the destination she sought out after spending more the four hours in the spa. Her back and feet felt much better than they had before and her babies weren't moving as much, seeming to be content within her after she'd relaxed some.

She began to hum a soft melody, her eyes closing a bit and relying on her sense of hearing to know if she was close to anything she could bump into. She was very happy with her life as of late, having come a very long way from being forcibly ripped from her own world. Being pregnant must have done a lot more for her than she'd thought, making her completely forget the hardships she'd been facing over the past two years of her life.

So lost in thought, Kathryn never heard the attack coming. Never noticed a man in a long black robe stalk towards her and thrust a knife deep into her abdomen. She screamed, dropping to her knees as her magic flared in response to her pain, catching the man off guard as her eyes locked with his.

He began clawing at his eyes, the knife that was still in his hand scratching his face as he screamed. It never stopped until he lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood, his breathing becoming ragged. Kathryn's blood mixing with his as she crumbled into a ball, holding the gaping wound in her stomach with her slender hands.

Running was heard before a loud feminine scream overtook the hall and Kathryn felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Lucy's tear-filled eyes and opened her mouth to speak, failing as she coughed up blood and collapsed into the pool of mixed blood. The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was the quick talking of Lucy and the strangled growls of her five mates over the lacrama.

* * *

Kathryn's eyes fluttered open and she recognized the guild's infirmary immediately. She struggled to sit up and felt a tugging sensation in her stomach before it faded and someone's arm wrapped around her back to lend her some support. Looking over, she saw the grave eyes of all five of her mates, none of them seeming to be able to smile back when she sent them a weak smile.

She frowned slightly, her brows drawing together. "How bad is it?" She asked, looking over at Wendy who shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

Realization swamped the woman as she reached down to touch her stomach, her heart giving a lurch as she noted how flat and soft it currently was. She gave a strangled cry and slumped over into Cobra's arms, sobbing into his chest as anguish flooded her heart.

She'd lost their babies, all of them. She was foolish and had been alone for only a moment, proving that it would only take that much for her to be attacked by anyone if she didn't have some form of protection. Kathryn's loud sobs filled the quiet infirmary as Wendy silently left, leaving the woman in the care of her men, none of them really knowing what they could do aside from Cobra who could hear the sorrow flooding the woman's soul like a deep cello in a lonely solo in a bleak night.

The man held her close, clutching her to his chest as a tear leaked from his eye, the only emotion the other men had ever seen him show other than anger, amusement, or annoyance. They'd never seen the sadness that cloaked the man, or felt the truly deep anguish that accompanied their mate's heart wrenching sobs into the Poison Slayer's chest. They all felt helpless, unable to alleviate the pain from the small woman.

It was a long time later that Kathryn had learned that she would still be able to bear children, though none of the triplets had survived the attack as they'd been all hit when the knife hit just right and had severed the cords of each child, cutting off all of their life supports before Laxus had ported her back for Wendy to heal her. They had all died quickly, the shock of their mother's magic having effectively numbed them to any pain they might have felt, a small blessing if one could be found in this.

The man who had attacked her was dead by the time the six men had made it to the hallway, his own wounds being too much for him to survive as he'd bled out on the floor. They'd learned he was a dark mage who had worked for Ivan, having come to attack her as Ivan had learned of his son's mate and future child through the interview Laxus had done with Sorcerer's Weekly only the week before.

There was nothing anyone could do to alleviate the stress from the woman as she closed in on herself after experiencing the loss of three more children in her lifetime. She'd divulged the loss of her first child being the end of her marriage and it was certainly her worst fear for the possibility to happen again.

This information had not fallen on deaf ears as each of her mates had grouped up when she'd finally fallen asleep after being released from the infirmary later that day. They spoke in low tones down in the kitchen, coming up with a way to show the emotionally destroyed woman that they would always be there for her, no matter what problems that they faced.

* * *

 **A/N;** _Okay, so I did want to put a note here for those who would question why I would write something like this and find it... insensitive? When I wrote this chapter, I myself had just experienced an accident that destroyed my world. I was working and got hit by a car, causing me to miscarry what would have been my first child. My husband and I were both destroyed emotionally by this accident back in March, where I withdrew into myself and it caused many problems between us. I found that writing about characters going through the emotional issues that I'm going through in my life has helped me in working through my issues and that led to me writing this. You can see from the point of my character finding out that she's pregnant to how destroyed this makes her and you will continue to see how she continues to struggle with her emotions fluctuating throughout the remainder of this story. I'm only writing this to explain that, while miscarriages are fairly common in our world, accidents such as these are not as common and are not to be taken lightly. I didn't write it to be insensitive of others and their issues but as a way to work through my own struggles. Anyways, until next time!_


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N;** _I'm so sorry for my absence as of late! I got a new job and I work so much I rarely have time to sit down and write anymore. I'm finding that balance now so I will be updating more often than once every 3 months from now on, even if it isn't more than once a week. I hope you can all forgive me!_

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 ** _Word Count:_** _1,372_

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The moment Kathryn opened her eyes, she regretted it immediately as they felt as though she'd been submerged in chlorine for hours with how sandpapery they felt. She squinted at the glare coming from the window and nearly sobbed in relief when the curtains were quickly drawn.

Instead, she sobbed in heartbreak once more when she felt the flat expanse of her stomach when she curled in on herself. One of the few things in her life she regretted was those few minutes in the hallway alone.

This was her fault, if only she hadn't denied Sting the chance to go with her, maybe the babies would still be alive and in the womb still. Maybe she should have called one of the guys when the spa session was done so they could have come to walk with Lucy and herself, then they wouldn't have been alone and it wouldn't have mattered if the communication lacrama had been left behind. Maybe if-

"You have to stop, love," Cobra whispered in her ear as he sat on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair out of her tear-streaked face.

Kathryn opened her eyes once more and looked up at the slayer. "But our baby would have lived if I-"

He cut her off with a chaste kiss and a growl. "Stop," He pressed his forehead against her own and cupped her cheek. "It's not your fault. None of us blame you for what happened. If anything, we blame ourselves."

"But why?" Kathryn couldn't stop the anger from flaring up within herself as she heard what her mate said to her. "Why do you not blame me when it's obviously my fault? I was alone, even after all of you didn't want me to be. It was fucking stupid and it's my fault that our babies are dead."

"And what about us?" Cobra countered, his own anger flashing in his single amethyst eye as he moved his hand to grip the back of her neck and keep her forehead pressed to his. "Aren't we to blame as well? We went against our instincts and let you go alone, with not a fucking one of us around. Feel through the bond with each of us, what do you feel?"

Kathryn stilled in place for a moment and her brows drew together as she focused on the bond between herself and each of her mates. Through the bond, if she focused through her own erratic emotions, she could feel their anger, frustration, sorrow, and… guilt? Why would they feel guilty? What could possibly make them all feel that way?

"We weren't with you," The Poison Dragon Slayer answered her unspoken questions. "We promised to keep you safe and we failed, not just as mates, but as fathers as well. We failed you." He closed his eye and a tear leaked out to trail down his tanned cheek, startling the woman in his arms.

She reached up and cupped his cheek, using her thumb to brush away the moisture on his skin. "I'm sorry," She whispered, her voice cracking. "We all could have done better. We will do better." She smiled a tiny bit when his eye opened back up. "I'm never going anywhere else without one of you at my side, not after something like this. There better be one of you available any time I want to go somewhere."

"You wouldn't have a choice, anyways, Little Bit," Cobra chuckled drawing Kathryn up and into his lap where he buried his nose in her hair. "We aren't letting you be alone ever again."

* * *

Kathryn had almost the same talk with each of her mates, starting with the other two who were set to be fathers first. They had all said nearly the same thing, that she was not allowed without one of them with her at all times. Had this been said a week ago, the small redhead would have argued, but now? Now, she was perfectly fine with the situation, knowing that she would rather one of them be breathing down her neck at all times rather than risk getting hurt again and risking not only her own life, but that of her mates as well as they were all linked.

She sighed as she stepped out of the bath, wrapping a towel around her body as the tub drained of the scorching hot water she'd come to be used to. For some reason, the heat didn't bother her anymore, it helped to wash away the pain she was feeling inside, though she had much help fighting the pain within her in the form of five very protective men.

As if on cue, one of her men walked into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling into her neck and making her giggle slightly as sharp teeth grazed over her skin. "Sting," Kathryn sighed when his hand snuck under the towel to begin pinching and twisting her nipple in his fingers. "You're going to end up bringing everyone else up here if you don't stop."

"But I want to play," He pouted against her neck, sounding like a child who had been told he couldn't have cake for breakfast.

"You can have rights to my bed tonight," She promised, swatting his hand away and readjusting her towel to turn to the blond male. She tried not to laugh at the sad look on his face but failed horribly. "Oh, stop it. You won't die if we don't have sex right here, right now."

"I might," The slayer countered with a smirk. "I could drop dead right here, all because my sexy little mate denied me."

Glowing eyes rolled at his dramatics and she poked him in the chest with a dimpled grin. "You're shit out of luck, Firefly," She giggled before rising on her toes to give him a chaste kiss before walking into the bedroom. She tilted her head as a thought occurred to her, "Why are all of you slayers being so touchy-feely lately?"

He walked with her out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed and leaned back on his hands to watch as she stripped away the towel and began dressing. Giving a shrug, Sting answered nonchalantly, "We almost lost you. Our dragons feel the need to reassert our connection with you, especially after the babies were lost. I think even Bickslow is feeling the need to be close to you after what happened."

Kathryn hummed as she slid on a pair of denim shorts and a black tank top over her sapphire colored lingerie set. "I guess that makes sense," She said after a moment. "I suppose I will have to make time with each of you so that we can make sure everyone feels better."

The idea wasn't in any way, shape, or form unappealing to her. She'd been closing herself off for a few days, bouncing back and forth between happy and her old self to the depressed mess that she'd been when she'd spoken with Cobra that first day following the incident. She needed to be close to them as much as they did with her and she supposed they would need a kind of re-do vacation to make up for the disaster the last one had become.

"Maybe we could ask Lucy if we can visit the Konzern," Kathryn mused aloud to herself.

"I'm sure she would be happy to let us go there," Sting assured as he pulled her into his lap and nuzzled her neck again. "It would give Rogue a chance to be close to her, too, if we asked him along."

Kathryn playfully swatted his shoulder, but she knew he had a point. The whole reason she'd asked the two to go to Akane with them in the beginning was so that the Shadow Dragon Slayer would get past his whole denial of his feelings that he had going on. Everyone knew how that had turned out, though.

"Alright," She said, jumping lightly to her feet and clasping her hands together. "Let's go to the guild and we'll talk to Lucy when she gets back from her job with her team later."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N;** _I may or may not be fooling around with a story involving my version of Kathryn from Call of Cthulhu and her psycho best friend Marie {Based on my real-life best friend, Valerie, with her input into character design}. It's something I'm just messing around with right now as I'm thinking about playing with Desna's Pradesh boys and I don't know if I feel right using someone else's OCs. It's just that I love the characters she's created and I like the idea of throwing my girls into a story with them to see where it goes. I'll continue considering it before I start to actually write or post it, kind of give myself time to work past my doubts in using someone else's characters in my own writing {Mostly because I don't want to get any of them wrong and want to keep them true to how Desna created them}. It's only because I'm pretty guilty of making characters have very... OOC moments, honestly. We'll see!_

 _Anyways, I hope you like this chapter as the plot thickens and we get into the main story arc in this fic! We're going on an adventure!_

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 ** _Word Count:_** _1,839_

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The guild was the same as ever, boisterous and active as could be with alcohol flowing freely- though it was only noon- and a brawl already starting between a couple members off in a corner. Kathryn couldn't help but feel that this place had quickly become home to her and the members of Fairy Tail were her family.

That's what made her depression click a bit more in her mind as she sat at her table with three of her mates. She had been neglecting those around her and been selfish, slinking into the depression that came and went within her mind at odd times. It took something so small as touching her stomach to make herself remember her loss and the heartache would return as freshly as a ripped off scab.

She was useless, honestly. She couldn't even put on a façade around those who cared for her, for their sake. She just allowed the depression to sit in her heart and fester, showing in the slight frown on her face and the single tear that fell from her eye as she stared at the table.

A hand on her chin had Kathryn looking up into the serious red gaze of her Iron Dragon Slayer, he was frowning down at her, his pierced brows drawn together in frustration. "Stop," Gajeel ordered, narrowing his eyes at her.

Kathryn lowered her lashes and sighed, "I don't know what you're talking about." Yes, she did. She knew exactly what he meant. He wanted her to stop dwelling on the bad thoughts, to let herself just allow her friends and family to comfort her in her time of need. She was closing in on herself again and none of her mates wanted that to happen as they'd just partially gotten her back.

Gajeel tugged her hand and made her stand up, dragging her along up to a free office on the second floor. Sitting on the couch, he tugged the small woman into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "Ya need to stop lettin' this eat at ya, love," The slayer said as gently as he could, surprising Kathryn.

This was her Iron Dragon Slayer, the most surly of all her mates and he was here, comforting her and trying to snap her out of her imminent depression. She felt tears prick her eyes and her throat ache painfully as the emotions in herself built up. "I can't," She whimpered out as the first tears seeped from her eyes to trail down her cheeks.

The man's hands came up to cup her cheeks, his thumbs wiping away the drops of moisture. "Ya can," Gajeel pressed his forehead to hers. "Ya have us ta help ya. Ev'n the guild will help, if ya let 'em."

"Gaj… It-"

"If ya tell me it was yer fault, I'm gonna get mad," The slayer cut her off gruffly before sighing and pressing his forehead to hers. "None of us blame ya, we blame ourselves. Ya think yer the only one who lost the babies?"

Kathryn sniffled and shook her head a little, he was right. She had been told the same thing by Sting only that morning. The men all blamed themselves for the loss of the babies for not being more protective of her, they felt guilty for her even getting hurt in the first place. She felt the guilt, love, sorrow, all of these emotions over her bond with each man, even the usually fun-loving Bickslow felt guilty over it all.

The redhead closed her eyes and sighed, she had to let people bear her burden with her. Especially her mates as they hurt as much as she did and they would only hurt more if she pushed those emotions over their bonds.

"I'm sorry," She whispered softly and her eyes snapped open when Gajeel began to growl. "I don't mean like that," She scolded gently. "I mean I'm sorry that I've been pulling in on myself so much. I know you all hurt too and I let myself just forget that so I could wallow in my own guilt. It's so hard to let it go, Gaj."

He wiped away the fresh tears and kissed her softly before pulling her head down to rest on his shoulder. "Ya won't ever let it go, love. Ya just need ta learn that we are all here with ya through this," The slayer told her.

Kathryn felt like she understood more fully now. After her conversation with Sting before and this one with Gajeel, she knew she needed to let the men help her to get through this as much as they needed her. They'd all lost the babies and it was hard on all of them, though it was a learning experience.

She sat up abruptly when a thought occurred to her and she looked at the slayer. "You were with your dragon longest," It was a statement, not a question, but he nodded anyways. "Why did a female have so many mates?"

"Ta protect her," Gajeel responded as almost a question.

"From what?" She needed to know the answers to these questions before she could allow herself to let the subject drop. It felt important, in a way that nothing had before, for her to know the answers.

"Metallicana told me that they were the targets of attacks, no one knew why, it was thought to be a curse or something." His brows drew together as he tried to think about a reason and trying to follow his mate's train of thought.

"So the mates of dragon slayers are targeted?"

"Something like that."

"Could it be a curse specifically on the females?"

The studded man's brows shot up when he heard this question. "Maybe? It was only a thought by Metallicana, but I s'pose there could be a curse of some kind."

Kathryn hopped up from his lap with a quick nod, "I'm going to go talk to Freed, Rufus, and Levy. I'm going to need their help."

"So I take it we aren't going to Bunny Girl's house?"

The redhead shook her head quickly, "This is more important. If there's a curse, there has to be a way to break it. It could explain why Lucy, Lisanna, and I have such bad luck." She leaned forward and kissed the slayer quickly. "Thanks, Stud. I'll be in the library if anyone needs me."

She didn't wait for a response as she bolted from the room to seek out the trio she knew would be able to help her try to break this curse, if that's what it really was. She had to admit that it did sound exactly like what a curse would be back on Earth.

This thought made the small woman stop in her tracks as she was about to push the library doors open. She hadn't thought of Earth in so very long, hadn't even had a stray thought about it since she'd talked to each mate about it that day about two months ago. Strange that she would think of it now that she knew she might be cursed.

Shaking the thought away, Kathryn walked into the library and found the three mages she wanted to see already at a back table, talking quietly to themselves. She knew that her other mates had heard her conversation with Gajeel and had sent the trio into the library for her. They really were the best, she thought to herself with a small smile.

Levy looked up at her as she approached and quickly moved to hug her. "What's going on, Kat-chan?"

"I have a serious project and I need your help with it because I have no idea about anything to do with curses," Kathryn responded, looking between each of the faces of the three mages. They all looked confused and for good reason, she was confused herself.

"A curse?" Freed prompted when Levy and Kathryn sat down at the table. He opened a notebook, mirrored by the bluenette woman while Rufus watched the redhead intently.

Kathryn quickly explained her idea and how she came to the conclusion herself, making sure to not leave out the fact that Lucy and Lisanna were likely cursed as well. She couldn't see how the curse would be placed on her, but figured it may be something to do with being placed as the mate for five men when she'd come into this world.

"So we need to figure out if there really is a curse and hopefully break it before any of us bear children or, worse, end up dead from an attack like I went through," She finished, looking at the intelligent mages.

"This does have the calling cards of a curse," Levy remarked from her seat next to Kathryn. She tapped her pen on the notepad she'd been taking notes on and hummed to herself.

"So, where do we start?" Kathryn asked the gathered mages.

"We find everything we can on dragons and slayers," Rufus spoke up for the first time since they'd gathered. "I brought all of the tomes with me that we had at Sabertooth. There is likely more here that I do not remember ever reading. We learn what we can about the dragons and run the information by those who were raised by them."

"I will look around and find out if there are any books that we may not have that will be of any help," Freed said, standing up from the table and tucking away his own notebook.

"I'll get Lucy and have her help me with reading the books we do have again as well as the ones from Sabertooth," Levy added on.

"What about me?" Kathryn asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I did hear of one book in a town near Seven that could be beneficial," Rufus murmured to himself. "You should take a couple of your brutes with you and try and obtain the book, if it does, indeed, exist."

Kathryn nodded, this made sense. She would be the best choice to go obtain new books as she had her mates to help her, making the trip faster than it would be for any of the others. "I'll have Laxus talk to Natsu and Rogue about keeping closer eyes on their mates until we get this figured out. I don't want Lucy or Lisanna getting hurt like I did," She sighed out the last part and hugged Levy one last time before turning to leave the three to their research.

They would figure this out, she told herself. She had three of the smartest mages in Fiore working on this and, if they figured out what it was, they would save not only herself and the other two women mated to slayers, but, hopefully, any mates for their future children. They were doing this for more than themselves and that's what made Kathryn know that they would succeed in their venture.

They would break this curse… or whatever it was.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N;** _Already apologized in another story's Author's Note, but, for any who don't read all of my stories, I'm back and got my muse to speak to me again. Long story short, I quit my job, which was a toxic environment, and am now finding I have plenty of free time for my writing at the moment. So, enjoy lots of me posting while my muse is speaking._

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 _ **Word count:**_ _1,295_

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"Why are we here again?"

Kathryn rolled her eyes at her White Dragon Slayer for perhaps the thirtieth time since they'd left Magnolia and waited for him to grab their bags from the overhead compartment on the train and hand her the small pack that they'd all agreed she be allowed to carry. Slinging the miniature backpack onto her shoulders, she followed her excitable slayer off the train with Laxus following directly behind her.

"We are looking for anything that might tell us why the female mates of slayers and dragons seem to be cursed," Kathryn explained as they made their way towards a café for lunch.

"Have we confirmed that it's a curse?" Laxus asked, taking his soundpods off his ears and giving his little mate his full attention.

The redhead shook her head, "It's only a hunch, but everyone seems to agree with me." She sat down at an outdoor table in between her two slayers and pulled out her notebook that she'd used to quickly jot down all the notes she had from her conversation with the guild's brainiacs. "Think about how much Lucy gets hurt."

Sting chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Blondie gets put in the infirmary more than anyone I know," He commented.

"And Lisanna?"

"The Edolas thing," Laxus nodded, seeming to understand the links she was making.

"And then there's me," Kathryn continued. "Even before being pulled into this world I had terrible luck. First with my family, my husband, my cat running away. Then, of course, being brought here and held prisoner." She broke off, looking down at her notes as she blinked away the tears that threatened when she thought of her imprisonment. A hand on hers had her smiling up at Laxus as she continued, "Then losing the babies just pretty much summed up all of my bad luck."

"Sure sounds like a curse when you think about it," The Lightning Slayer noted, his brows drawing together. "Our original mates didn't die on their own, so that seems to add in to this."

Kathryn smiled up at the young waiter who approached their table. "Hello, what can I get for you all to start? Something to drink?" He asked, his eyes locked on the small woman and a sly smile on his face.

"I'll have a coke," Sting said through clenched teeth, capturing Kathryn's attention quickly as she felt irritation over their bond.

"I'll take a coffee, black," Laxus grumbled in the same irritated tone. "She'll have a raspberry refresher with a second one in a takeaway cup after the meal."

The waiter jotted this down before smiling at the small woman once more, "And any appetizers? Are you ready to order?"

"Two of everything, only one of the shrimp with white sauce, over rice instead of pasta," Laxus was getting more irritated by the moment and Kathryn didn't know what to do aside from staying quiet and allowing her slayers to be who they were. She knew better than to try and step in when they were being protective of her over anything anymore. "The pasta gives her stomach aches."

Seeming to take the hint that Kathryn wasn't speaking to him at all, the waiter jotted everything down before rushing off into the kitchen. He'd no doubt recognized Sting and Laxus after he'd finally looked at them because the chef was screaming orders that even Kathryn's barely above normal hearing could pick up from outside the main café area.

"I can't believe you remember all of that about me," Kathryn giggled, leaning forward with her elbows on the table so she could rest her chin in her hands and look at Laxus.

The slayer shrugged a bit and leveled a glare at Sting who was cackling like a fool about the man being whipped. The smaller blond had electricity dance over his skin for a moment before Kathryn reached over and touched him, the electricity flowing into her own body.

"Stop attacking him," She told Laxus before reaching up and gripping Sting's ear. "And you stop antagonizing him. I seem to recall someone being ready to leave the guild if I had decided not to join, whether his brother wanted to or not." She grinned cheekily when he scowled slightly, her dimples peeking out.

After their food was served, Kathryn found herself having the best time she'd had in nearly two weeks. She was smiling and laughing with two of her mates openly, not having to force herself to be happy. She realized it was likely due to her finally getting out of town and away from the pitying stares she got from some of the women around town who knew she was previously pregnant and saw her flat stomach now.

She picked up her takeaway drink and skipped along between the two slayers, her fingers linked with Sting's as she hummed a song in her head from Earth. It was a tune that had remained stuck in her mind for a while, something that kind of spoke to her over this whole ordeal she'd gone through. Kathryn leaned her head on Sting's shoulder as they walked up to the hotel they'd be staying at for the evening and sighed happily.

"Getting tired, Carrot Cake?" Laxus asked from her other side.

The redhead shook her head, "I was hoping to watch a movie or something before bed, wind down a bit after traveling all day."

"I'll meet you two in the room in a bit," The older slayer said. "I'm gonna go get some stuff we'll need for the hike to the next town."

"Okay," Kathryn smiled at him, giggling when he tugged her away from Sting to kiss her long and deep.

"Please stay near the lightbulb," Laxus ordered, his gray eyes full of seriousness. "We don't need anything happening to you before we figure this situation out."

"I don't plan on leaving his side," She responded with a small smirk that had a tug coming over the bond she shared with Sting in question of her words. Ignoring it, she kissed Laxus once more before grabbing Sting's hand back in her own and walking over to the doors they'd stopped by. "See you in a bit, Thunder!" She shot over her shoulder with a grin that told him to make the 'bit' longer than he'd planned on.

Sting slung his arm over her shoulders as they approached the hotel's desk where a small older lady sat with her nose in a book. "King bed?" He asked lowly enough that Kathryn knew she was the only one to hear it. She nodded with a giggle, sliding her arm around his waist.

"Can I help you?" The small old lady asked, setting her book aside and looking up at the couple with questions in her eyes.

"We need a room for the night," The slayer stated matter-of-factly. "One with a king sized bed, if possible."

The desk clerk snorted and Kathryn nearly choked when she said, "Yeah, I'll bet." She looked through a log book before nodding and pulling a key from a drawer. "It'll be eight thousand for the night."

Jewels and keys changed hands before the Dream Walker found herself being tugged down a long hallway and into a large room with a huge bed that was sunken into the ground slightly. The room was gorgeous with deep greens everywhere and the bed covered in jet black silk sheets and a dozen pillows across the surface.

"Shower?" Sting asked as he pushed his small mate back against the door and trapped her arms above her head, nipping at her jawline and tracing his tongue over the mark on her neck.

Kathryn shivered slightly and shook her head, "I need you. Now."


End file.
